1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,840 If you're a smartphone enthusiast, you've probably heard about big-name Chinese phone 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,160 manufacturers like ZTE and Huawei being restricted from the US market. 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:14,800 So it may not be terribly surprising that a Chinese app has now come under fire as well. 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:21,200 I'm talking about none other than TikTok, the app best known for poorly singing teenagers and 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:22,160 viral dance-offs. 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,560 But why is TikTok of all things suddenly under so much scrutiny? 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,760 Well, certain US officials have described it as a potential national security threat. 8 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:42,720 But how could that be? Well, the reason the US and some of its allies are so concerned about Chinese technology 9 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,600 is the possibility that backdoors could be built in to Chinese-controlled software 10 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,560 or hardware to allow mass spying against Western citizens and interests. 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,920 And although Huawei, for example, is a private company, 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,960 they've faced criticism in the past for getting too much support from China's communist government, 13 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:06,160 leading some to worry that their communication technology could be used for shady doings. 14 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,960 Now, TikTok is also owned by a private Chinese company called ByteDance, 15 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:15,360 and like Huawei, they're not officially an ARM of the government in Beijing. 16 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:20,240 But the concerns about undue influence from Chinese authorities remain. 17 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:25,600 For example, China forced ByteDance to shut down a different app centered around memes 18 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,560 and videos in 2018, simply because it didn't like the content. 19 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,680 ByteDance then issued a statement in which it attempted to appease the Chinese Communist Party 20 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:41,040 and promised to hire party members as well as increase the number of employees working as sensors. 21 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:46,400 So it looks like fears that ByteDance might end up becoming pressured to be a tool of the 22 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:53,520 Chinese government aren't completely unfounded. And while it's true that US tech companies have gotten in hot water with the American government 23 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:58,400 before over content, not to mention the NSA surveillance revelations that came out some years 24 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:05,520 back, Chinese lack of data protection laws or an independent judiciary with due process guarantees, 25 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,320 as well as China Internet Security Law, which gives the government very broad powers to collect 26 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,440 data from tech companies, has raised concerns that it would be far easier for the Chinese 27 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:20,880 Communist Party to get its hands on any data it wants from ByteDance and other domestic technology 28 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:27,600 firms, even if the data itself was collected and stored outside of China as ByteDance claims 29 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:33,120 is the case with TikTok. But of course, that's a lot of speculation. Is this actually what's 30 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,680 going on with TikTok? Well, so far, there's no evidence that the Chinese government has 31 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:44,000 collected data en masse from TikTok or its users. And even if it did, it's important to look at 32 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:50,400 what kind of information they'd be getting. TikTok does collect IP addresses and location data, but 33 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,800 lots of apps do the same thing. Instead, it's far more likely that more valuable information, 34 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:01,600 such as financial records and physical addresses, would come from other sources, 35 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,400 such as security breaches of government agencies, as well as the credit bureau leaks that we all 36 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:12,400 found out about in 2017. But another potentially huge issue with TikTok isn't related to data 37 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:17,760 collection or the use of the app as a way to hack phones or networks. Other huge social media 38 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:23,200 platforms, namely Facebook and Twitter, have faced criticism for being slanted politically 39 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,840 or not doing enough to control the flow of misinformation about sensitive topics. 40 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:33,280 And there's a fear that the Chinese government is already using TikTok to control and spin 41 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:40,240 conversations about issues that people care about by forcing ByteDance to, well, dance to its tune. 42 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:46,560 In 2019, there was a report that TikTok moderators were being forced to restrict negative comments 43 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,960 about the Chinese system as well as content related to the Hong Kong protests and, 44 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:58,400 unsurprisingly, about the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989. But regardless of what TikTok does or 45 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:04,320 does not have the potential to become, both the US Army and Navy have banned the app and the State 46 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:09,440 Department is said to be looking at a nationwide prohibition. India, which has also been at logger 47 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:14,640 heads with China recently, has already banned TikTok, citing similar national security concerns. 48 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,480 I just wonder what will happen if it does get banned in the US. There's probably going to be a 49 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,880 lot of really upset Gen Zers. But instead of voicing their displeasure at the ballot box, 50 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:28,160 maybe they'll find a way to resurrect Vine. I miss Vines. I'm kidding, I don't miss Vines. 51 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:33,200 That was just in the script. Thanks for watching, guys. 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