TikTok Says Some China-Based Employees Can Access U.S. User Data, Outlines Plan for Better Safeguards

[InGen]

Also wrap yourself up in cotton wool & hide in a bubble.

Here you are posting about privacy on a social forum?? Why are you posting here?

Seriously, unless your doing something highly illegal, what on earth are you worried about? The reason these apps are free to use, is because you give up a little of your privacy for targeted advertising. Thats the deal.

“Targeted advertising” is a mask for what holds the true value in what you are giving them, human behavioural patterns. Many of these Apps gauge more than what you visit or click on, they track how long you view individual items, how fast you scroll, how many minutes or seconds you engage with any particular item, how you engage with said post.

The metrics they collect help build AI models that predict human behaviour that they can then use to build larger models of predictive human behaviour that apply to entirely different areas of social management, media, governance and policy.

By using these Applications, you are feeding a small minority of humans the answers they need to continue to manipulate and manage the masses in a way that is becoming more concise and calculated. You are losing individual sovereignty and far more.

 

[svish]

Don't trust TikTok.

 

[matrix07]

Just-ban-it.

 

[pratikindia]

This is the key information in the article as it makes the rest irrelevant. The algorithm is the whole point, the secret sauce of all of it. Reading the sentence carefully, Chinese employees will train the algorithm, using the Oracle servers.

Also, if they refuse to provide data to the CCP, they and everyone else know very well that they will be disappeared and replaced with someone compliant.

They cannot refuse. It’s national policy to provide data whenever CCP wants.

 

[Wildkraut]

„TikTok says that it has not been asked to provide data to the Chinese government, and would not provide data if the CCP requested information.“

The first part might be true, because TikTok mainly stores nonsense data, but the second part of this statement is doubtful, with a gun on their heads or on the heads of some family members they would hand over anything, and this is not a fictive scenario. It does not even need to be a gun, just jail one after one and the data will come from alone.

 

[bLackjackj]

By using these Applications, you are feeding a small minority of humans the answers they need to continue to manipulate and manage the masses

And yet after all that, YOU have a mobile phone and provided an email address to be able to post on this forum. I'm honestly tired of the hypocracy when it comes to those that want everything for free, yet still have the freedom and post on internet forums. Even better when they crow about privacy, yet own an Android phone that delivers information off device and straight to Google.

If you don't like it, don't ever sign up for a website, service or app. Go and use a phone that requires nothing but a Sim and ensure you change your number monthly.

In so much as the fact that you posted here,..you have left identifying markings!

 

[BigDO]

People who use tik tok deserve no protection or privacy.

 

[TheOldChevy]

I am not based in the USA. Would any US employee be able to see some of my data on AWS, Google or iCloud ?

End-to-end encryption is the only solution.

 

[Guacamole]

when they will learn, nothing good comes out of china

 

[BigDO]

when they will learn, nothing good comes out of china

Chinese food is pretty good.

 

[Wildkraut]

Chinese food is pretty good.

But just if it’s made with western bio ingredients 🤣

Stuff like century eggs, that’s like eating mummy meat. 🤮 Or bat soup 🤮, greetings from Corona.

 

[Powerguru]

The app where using common sense is a violation of terms of service. Just ban the app. The future adults will Thank Biden.

 

[Stevez67]

I don’t use Tik Tok, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? It doesn’t matter how many cookies you block or delete, whether you use a VPN, or what other tinfoil hat scheme you use to try to hide online, the aggregators find you through your browsing habits, purchases, geolocation (you gotta use an ISP, a cell tower or satellite), and device ID. Frankly it’s probably safer for the average person to “hide in plain sight.” Trying to mask your online presence likely makes you stand out from the crowd and attract prying eyes.

 

[miniyou64]

Lol look at all the commies begging for a ban of software in a “free” country. We’ve come full circle. They’d love it in China. Why is everyone so scared of China having data on 30 second looping funny videos? Do you have any idea what the US does with your data from everywhere else? And I’m not talking about advertising. What a ridiculous distraction this TikTok story is.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

In so much as the fact that you posted here,..you have left identifying markings!

Good Point. We’ll never hear from someone REALLY afraid of the surveillance.

 

[ElectricPotato]

Stuff like century eggs, that’s like eating mummy meat. 🤮 Or bat soup 🤮

I watched a youtube video of ex-pats in China eating chicken feet and duck heads. He mentioned how much less expensive it was than food in NYC. I do not doubt that assessment.

 

[CarAnalogy]

They cannot refuse. It’s national policy to provide data whenever CCP wants.

Yeah exactly, it’s even less realistic than refusing to cooperate with someone like the FBI. At least the FBI will admit that you’ve been arrested.

 

[Art Mark]

Such dumb stuff to be concerned over. American companies make 90% of software OS’s used in the world, and software. If we get paranoid over a goofy video sharing app, do we expect other countries to ditch every tech component or application made by US companies? Paranoia.

 

[Irock619]

TikTok is working on a plan to better safeguard the data of its U.S. users, the company said in an open letter [PDF] to several U.S. Senators that have expressed concern that the China-based app is a national security risk.

Shared by The New York Times, the letter outlines a multi-pronged undertaking called "Project Texas," aimed at strengthening data security. TikTok says that 100 percent of U.S. user data is stored in an Oracle cloud environment located in the U.S., and it is working with Oracle on more advanced data security controls that will be finalized "in the near future."

TikTok is planning to delete U.S. data from its servers and store information with Oracle exclusively. The company says all data sharing outside of the United States will be pursuant to "protocols and terms approved by the U.S. government."Concerns over TikTok have heightened over the last two weeks following a BuzzFeed News report that suggested TikTok engineers in China had access to the data of U.S. users between September 2021 and January 2022. "Everything is seen in China," said one TikTok employee in recordings reviewed by BuzzFeed, with the recordings also referencing a "Master Admin" engineer in China who "has access to everything."

Given the concerns over U.S. data access, the United States Federal Communications Commission earlier this week asked Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores because of a "pattern of surreptitious data practices."

TikTok in its letter confirmed that some China-based employees are indeed able to access data from U.S. TikTok users, "subject to a series of robust cybersecurity controls" overseen by a U.S.-based security team. TikTok says that it has an internal data classification system and approval process in place that assign levels of access based on the sensitivity of the data. It will work with the Biden Administration going forward to continue to limit data access.

In response to a question on why TikTok does not plan to block all U.S. user data from the view of employees in China, TikTok said that "certain China-based employees will have access to a narrow, non-sensitive set of TikTok U.S. user data" in order to ensure global interoperability. Employees will also be able to develop the TikTok video recommendation algorithm using U.S. data, though training of the algorithm will be limited to Oracle's servers.

TikTok promises that access will be "very limited" and will not include "private TikTok U.S. user information." TikTok says that it has not been asked to provide data to the Chinese government, and would not provide data if the CCP requested information.

Apple and Google have not as of yet responded to the FCC's request to remove the TikTok app from their app stores.

Article Link: TikTok Says Some China-Based Employees Can Access U.S. User Data, Outlines Plan for Better Safeguards

Trump was right again.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Seriously, unless your doing something highly illegal, what on earth are you worried about?

Even if you don’t do something illegal, that doesn’t mean no one has to worry about it.

Also there’s things that used to be legal but aren’t anymore in some jurisdictions - see, for example, the recent laws criminalising abortion in the US.

Would any US employee be able to see some of my data on AWS, Google or iCloud ?

Of course. They hold the security keys and iCloud backups are unencrypted due to (reportedly) FBI request.

American companies make 90% of software OS’s used in the world, and software. If we get paranoid over a goofy video sharing app, do we expect other countries to ditch every tech component or application made by US companies?

But… but aren’t the U.S. of A. and its intelligence agencies and police forces the good guys that mean no harm never harm anyone, let alone anyone innocent?!

 

[vpndev]

The thing about moving the data to Oracle servers in the US is a distraction.

The Chinese staff will still have access to it.

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Most people in my generation (Gen Z) are too obsessed with TikTok to even care

 

[SoldOnApple]

I still think Apple should just buy TikTok. Though Apple already has 90% of the US teen market with hardware so maybe they don't really need TikTok.

 

[Funny Apple Man]

I still think Apple should just buy TikTok. Though Apple already has 90% of the US teen market with hardware so maybe they don't really need TikTok.

Apple should buy TikTok and then delete it. 😂

They’re worth $2 trillion while TikTok is worth $75 billion so this is nothing to them.

 

[DblHelix]

Can they access data for EU citizens? That would be the bigger deal since the us privacy laws do not cover portability cross borders.