On yesterday, I dropped a post about the new Apple iOS update released at the end of January. If you hadn't seen it already, visit my Instagram page @ToBeSecured to get some insight into what this update is for. Installing the latest update is one of the most important ways to maintain a good Security posture of your devices/products. So if you're one of those people who keeps swiping up on that notification, exit out of this post and go update your devices now. You'll thank me later.
Let's go ahead and jump right into today's topic as there has been so much talk of Trump and Biden wanting a ban of TikTok in the US given it's a Chinese owned application.
In recent news, TikTok hosted journalists at its Los Angeles headquarters to unveil a new center it has created to please American policymakers, regulators, and civil society leaders. A little less than three years after President Donald Trump tried to ban it, the company’s negotiations with US regulators have stalled and it’s facing renewed calls for a national ban. Already, 17 US states have banned the app from government-issued devices. The transparency center project was first announced in early 2020, with additional locations in Washington D.C., Dublin and Singapore (where TikTok silos and processes some US user data). The project was put on hold due to the outbreak of Covid-19, and the Los Angeles center is the first to open.
Company officials say the center is designed for regulators, academics, and auditors to learn more about how the app works and its security practices. The Los Angeles center provides a variety of interactive kiosks that highlight how creators and influencers use the platform, how data privacy and security are handled and how moderators approach content filtering. A server room is also present that allows visitors to examine the platform’s source code, though a non-disclosure agreement must be signed to access this particular element.
It seems that Facebook did something very similar to this in the past with their "War Room" in an attempt to portray they care about data privacy and security. Facebook leaned on a physical space during a PR crisis, giving a tour of the place and showing company media feeds and dashboards, in an attempt to display they have no malicious intent with user data. Photos were taken, stories were written, and then the "War Room" was closed about a month later.
The root of the issue is not so much anything TikTok has specifically done, but concerns about the level of reach the Chinese government has into the app. The nation’s security laws allow it to compel companies there to turn over stored data, without a warrant or much of a legal oversight process. Some lawmakers have also expressed concern over the potential of China’s government directing TikTok’s algorithm, using the platform to push propaganda or misinformation.
At Tuesday’s event, TikTok shared more on how it plans to reassure the public that it won’t be influenced by the Chinese government. Its “Project Texas” is a major partnership with the Texas-based tech giant Oracle to move all US data that was previously stored on TikTok’s foreign servers to the US. The project also entails inviting a team of outsiders, including from Oracle, to audit its algorithms. But TikTok crossed another line in late 2022 when it admitted that employees had been monitoring the accounts of journalists in an attempt to catch members of its own staff leaking confidential information.
The call for it to be removed from app stores has now been picked up by some Democrats in Congress, with Michael F. Bennet of Colorado writing a letter to that effect sent to Google and Apple. Company CEO Shou Zi Chew will appear before Congress in March to answer pointed questions not just about privacy issues, but rising public concerns about the impact the app has on the mental health of teen and child users.
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