Tik tok tik tok

So, India has banned tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with the skirmish in the mountains...

Pompeo (the US) has said they’re looking into banning tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with K-pop fans using it to blast trump and the alt-right with it (and since it’s foreign, it’s an easier target than twitter and facebook).

Anyhoo... the arguments being given are: the Chinese are using it to collect personal data!
Oh yes.

Tik tok has denied the Chinese government has ever asked them for information.

And I think this is probably true.
Why?
Is anyone on tiktok?
My daughter is. Now, what sort of information does the Chinese government want from my daughter?
Her name... it’s a handle, not her name.

Hundreds of films she’s made about Sailor Moon doing a dance dressed like a unicorn?
Or something... I don’t even pretend to understand weebness, anime or the erratic spasms they call dancing..

I think the issue with tiktok has far less to do with data collection, but more about politics.

What do you reckon?

Data collection from apps/websites is nothing new and Trump's administration is probably more concerned with spreading anti-China hysteria than protecting privacy.

There's still legitimate concern, though. China can and has requested personal info about users. Here's an article showing that China has legal measures in place to do so:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/05/huawei-would-have-to-give-data-to-china-government-if-asked-experts.html

Also, China has more legitimate accusations, of installing spying devices in computers of US companies:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/04/chinese-spy-chips-are-said-to-be-found-in-hardware-used-by-apple-amazon-apple-denies-the-bloomberg-businessweek-report.html

In short, China can, will and has collected data about its own citizens; it's likely China did so to foreign nations. I doubt Trump's administration actually cares, it's really more about attacking China, as far he's concerned.

The US is looking at *everything* the Chinese export into the US, like drones,
as China is a huge manufacturer of. And some claim that china is getting
video of the US landscape via their drones sold into the US.

Also, 5G tech has come into suspicion and Trump was angry at Johnson for not
banning Chinese manufactured 5G towers. So there is that.

The Indians.. they have their own problems and I am sure the recent skirmish
with China on their border played a role.

China is fashioning itself out to be the new USA, the new sheriff in town.

@Earl-of-Trumps
And the way Trump is unleading the US they have a great shot at it.
The idea of drones is stupid from a military POV since sats now get res on the order of inches, they can read a frigging license plate from 400 miles up right now so the idea of needing drones is silly.

I wouldn't put it past them to try however. We can with foreknowledge of the attempt, track signals bound for sats and we can triangulate on those suckers and put them out of business if push came to shove.

We are witnessing perhaps the end of the US empire now that Trump has TOTALLY screwed up the whole planet, losing our influence EVERYWHERE and now Europe doesn't even allow folks from US to enter their countries because Trump and his stupid governors have so totally screwed up any kind of way to combat the virus without shutting down the whole economy of the southern states.
It is coming to the idea of the civil war part deux.

@shavixmir said
So, India has banned tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with the skirmish in the mountains...

Pompeo (the US) has said they’re looking into banning tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with K-pop fans using it to blast trump and the alt-right with it (and since it’s foreign, it’s an easier target than twitter and facebook).

Anyhoo... the arguments being given are: t ...[text shortened]... with tiktok has far less to do with data collection, but more about politics.

What do you reckon?

I just hope our neigbours to the South come to their senses in the fall election. If not, it will be further down the hill for the U.S., sad to say or see.

-VR

@earl-of-trumps said
And some claim that china is getting
video of the US landscape via their drones sold into the US.

US will ban it also.

@sonhouse said
@Earl-of-Trumps
And the way Trump is unleading the US they have a great shot at it.
The idea of drones is stupid from a military POV since sats now get res on the order of inches, they can read a frigging license plate from 400 miles up right now so the idea of needing drones is silly.

I wouldn't put it past them to try however. We can with foreknowledge of the attempt ...[text shortened]... own the whole economy of the southern states.
It is coming to the idea of the civil war part deux.

@shavixmir said
So, India has banned tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with the skirmish in the mountains...

Pompeo (the US) has said they’re looking into banning tik tok.
Probably got nothing to do with K-pop fans using it to blast trump and the alt-right with it (and since it’s foreign, it’s an easier target than twitter and facebook).

Anyhoo... the arguments being given are: t ...[text shortened]... with tiktok has far less to do with data collection, but more about politics.

What do you reckon?

@shavixmir

TikTok has access to the smart phone's address book and contacts. That alone should send up a flare. It also copies the contents of the short-term memory buffer, which stores anything copy-pasted there, such as usernames and passwords. That should send up another flare.

TikTok itself is fleeing HK in light of the new security law passed by Beijing. That tells you a lot right there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53317015

PS:

https://www.cnet.com/news/tiktok-accused-of-secretly-gathering-user-data-and-sending-it-to-china/
quote (excerpt):

TikTok, known for its quirky 15-second videos, has been illegally and secretly harvesting vast amounts of personally identifiable user data and sending it to China, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California federal court last week.

. . .

TikTok videos often include close-ups of people's faces, allowing the company to gather biometric data on its users, according to the lawsuit. Once a user shoots a video and clicks the "next" button, the videos are transferred to various domains without their knowledge. This happens before users even save or post a video on the app, the lawsuit states.

Hong [plaintiff] downloaded TikTok in March or April 2019 but never created an account, according to the lawsuit. Months later, she discovered TikTok made one for her. She created five or six videos using the app but never saved or published the videos. Still, TikTok secretly took the videos and her data without her knowledge and sent the information to servers in China, according to the lawsuit.

TikTok is gathering a trove of data about its users, including their phone and social network contacts, email addresses, IP address, location and other information, according to the lawsuit. The company allegedly uses different tactics to conceal that they're transferring user data. Even when a user closes the app, it still harvests biometric and user data, the lawsuit states.

end excerpt, my italics.

Just what a surveillance state would want to know: are you now or have you ever been, or have you ever known anyone who ever was . . . at or near Tiananmen Square ?

@sonhouse said
@Earl-of-Trumps
And the way Trump is unleading the US they have a great shot at it.
The idea of drones is stupid from a military POV since sats now get res on the order of inches, they can read a frigging license plate from 400 miles up right now so the idea of needing drones is silly.

I wouldn't put it past them to try however. We can with foreknowledge of the attempt ...[text shortened]... own the whole economy of the southern states.
It is coming to the idea of the civil war part deux.

@wolfgang59 said
And some claim they have friends who have escaped Cuba by swimming to Florida.

"Some claim" is pretty weak don't you think?

@shippingtest said
US will ban it also.