TikTok Users Alert: Chinese Intel is Gathering, Storing, and Preparing to Use Your Data

Chinese Intel Has You in Their Sights

TikTok: Is the number one open source pit for Chinese intelligence to gather information on every American who uses it – case in point is this very disturbing story from Newsweek with this outstanding article headline:

“Washington's Inaction on TikTok is Beijing's Gain”

Right up front from the article’s conclusion (formatted to fit the blog) is this statement of concern: The Chinese realize they have struck a gold mine with TikTok.

Not only is it the fastest growing social media platform in the world, but a new survey released this year found that 67% of U.S. teenagers said they use TikTok, making it now the most popular social media app among teens.

Nearly one-fifth reported they use it almost constantly. And one in three TikTok viewers in the United States regularly use it as a source of news, which carries its own set of obvious vulnerabilities.

Key highlights from the article:

In the last few months, it has been learned that at least 300 employees at TikTok's China-based parent company, “ByteDance,” previously worked for Chinese-controlled media — and some still do.

Leaked audio from internal meetings showed that U.S. user data had been repeatedly accessed from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) –controlled from mainland China. A Chinese-based team planned to use TikTok to monitor the personal locations of certain American citizens.

Reflect back to the 1950’s “Cold War America,” the potential of a foreign communist government subverting and infiltrating American society was known as the “Red Scare.” And back then it was just that — a scare.

Fast forward to today, and we seem to be largely oblivious to the fact that the CCP has already achieved this devious goal: To make their way into nearly every home in America disguised as a fun, if not addicting, from short-form video cell phone app (TikTok).

TikTok allows users to consume and share culturally relevant videos and memes to and from their phones. The difference between TikTok and other popular apps like Instagram and Facebook, however, is that TikTok is owned by a Chinese internet conglomerate called “ByteDance,” a company with a cozy relationship with the Chinese state government.

It's no secret that any business operating in China, Chinese-owned or otherwise, is required to acquiesce to Chinese surveillance and technology-stealing, which makes the trove of data that TikTok is collecting a ripe, low-hanging target for the Chinese government.

Related:

FCC Commissioner’s statement on this topic.

This TikTok story from The Guardian.

My 2 Cents: For all TikTok users this simple and timely message based on the information provided above: Stop using TikTok. The sooner the better like now would be best. If you do not consider the possible repercussions. Word to the wise.

Thanks for stopping by.