22/07/2020
TikTok: dubbed a ‘data-collection service’⠀
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TikTok is having a tough time. The video-sharing platform owned by the Chinese technology giant ByteDance has been banned in India and accused of “spying” in the US. It has also provoked some tension here in the UK. ⠀
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Is TikTok plotting to capture your data so it can be mined by Chinese spies? ⠀
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The truth is more complicated. We happily hand over just as much data to other apps, including many based in Silicon Valley, and much of the same data and content we produce on TikTok is also posted on YouTube and shared through Facebook and Instagram. ⠀
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TikTok may have been described as a “data-collection service”, but the same could also be said of other popular social media platforms.⠀
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However, being forced out of it’s biggest markets, doesn’t bode well for TikTok’s long-term survival.⠀
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Recent figures show that TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide. The app has been downloaded over 2 billion times.⠀
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What do you think the future holds for TiKTok?⠀
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S: Guardian⠀