Data Practices of US and Chinese Social Media Companies
This blog looks at the claims that the Chinese Communist Party could force TikTok to hand over people's data and how they could just buy the same data from commercial data brokers in the US. It also looks at the reactions of US and European officials to TikTok's data practices.
Mark Scott
Chief Technology Correspondent at POLITICO. Visiting fellow at @IFL_Brown. Email: mscott (at) politico (dot) eu. Weekly newsletter: https://t.co/BQMiUUxokB. DMs open.
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Amused by all these claims that Chinese Communist Party could force TikTok to hand over ppl's data (I mean, they could, technically.)
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023
But CCP could also just buy a lot of that data (especially in the US) from commercial data brokers — with no questions asked.
Hmmm. -
Currently feelings when US officials lambast TikTok for allegedly weak data practices but are OK with the same practices at US social media companies pic.twitter.com/JSJ04UScxI
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023 -
Similar feelings when European officials (reluctantly) jump on the bandwagon, even though there's an ongoing investigation into TikTok's alleged bad data practices by Irish @DPCIreland pic.twitter.com/xeqbqKsbej
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023 -
This all feels a lot like 2019/2020 when US officials went hard against Huawei over allegations that it *could* bend to Beijing's will.
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023
That's a possibility with any Chinese-owner company. But I would like proof before we blame TikTok for things that Big Tech has done for years -
There's a prevailing assumption to take Western officials word on these accusations. But there's a whole bunch of geopolitics at play here that makes me skeptical w/o specific proof.
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023
I've read TikTok's terms of service. They are identical to those of FB, YouTube, etc -
Would this be happening if TikTok was American? Definitely not — though the threat of an authoritarian regime demanding data access wouldn't be there.
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) March 17, 2023
But to take Western officials word for something they are aren't willing to make public — or don't have evidence? Double hmmm