{"id":36409,"date":"2022-07-01T17:02:44","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T21:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=36409"},"modified":"2022-07-19T15:48:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T19:48:37","slug":"fcc-commissioner-calls-for-tiktok-to-be-remove-from-app-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/01\/fcc-commissioner-calls-for-tiktok-to-be-remove-from-app-store\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC Commissioner Calls for TikTok to Be Remove From App Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brendan Carr<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

TikTok is not just another video app.<\/p>

That’s the sheep’s clothing.<\/p>

It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.<\/p>

I’ve called on \n@Apple\n & \n@Google\n to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Tiktok’s pattern of misrepresentations coupled with its ownership by an entity beholden to the CCP has resulted in U.S. military branches and national security agencies banning it from government devices.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This whole charade about moving U.S. TikTok users’ data to servers run by Oracle is a facade — there’s nothing stopping ByteDance employees in China from accessing the data on those servers. The Biden administration shouldn’t merely request that Apple and Google ban TikTok from their App Stores, they should demand it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Nick Heer<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

As a reminder, Carr works for the FCC, not the FTC. Nor does Carr work for the Department of Commerce, which was most recently tasked<\/a> with eradicating TikTok from the United States. While frequent readers will know how much I appreciate a regulator doing their job and making tough demands, I feel Carr’s fury is misplaced and, perhaps, a little disingenuous.<\/p>\n

Carr’s letter follows Emily Baker-White’s reporting<\/a> earlier this month for Buzzfeed News<\/em> about the virtually nonexistent wall between U.S. user data collected by TikTok and employees at ByteDance, its parent company in China. The concerns, Baker-White says, are claims of persistent backdoors connected to Chinese military or intelligence which allow access to users’ “nonpublic data”.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

But, you know, maybe they should be worried about that simpler situation. I think Baker-White buried the lede in that big, long Buzzfeed<\/em> story[…]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Emily Baker-White<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Project Texas’s narrow focus on the security of a specific slice of US user data, much of which the Chinese government could simply buy from data brokers if it so chose<\/a>, does not address fears that China, through ByteDance, could use TikTok to influence Americans’ commercial, cultural, or political behavior.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Nick Heer<\/a>:<\/p>\n

One of the frustrating characteristics about Carr’s letter is that he is, in many ways, completely right — and I just wish he had raised these concerns about literally everything else applicable. From the perspective of a non-American, his concerns about intrusive surveillance reflect those I have about my data being stored under the control of American companies operating under American laws. Sure, Canada is both an ally and a participant in the Five Eyes group<\/a>. But it is hard to be reassured by that when the U.S. has lost its moral high ground by wiretapping allies<\/a> and entire countries<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Chance Miller<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

In its response today, ByteDance confirmed that some employees do need “have access to TikTok U.S. user data.” It went on to clarify, however, that these employees are “subject to a series of robust cybersecurity controls and authorization approval protocols overseen by our U.S.-based security team.”<\/p>\n

As noted by Reuters<\/a>, however, ByteDance also committed to making changes that will “fully safeguard user data and U.S. national security interests.” The company said that it is in the process of finalizing “new advanced data security controls” in partnership with Oracle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n