Online Privacy and the Selective Outrage of Banning TikTok

Would you accuse a company of not having any werewolves? Or maybe of not assuring its users that they have sea serpents? Or perhaps you’d have them testify in front of Congress for not keeping a chupacabra around? It sounds ridiculous, right?  Those are all cryptids, mythical creatures … they don’t exist! Well, when I see all the fuss about TikTok and its privacy issues, that’s what the whole thing sounds like to me. Online privacy? That’s as real as the Mongolian Death Worm. 

Now, I know these are murky waters, so let me clarify. I don’t mean to say the general lack of privacy that powers the digital age is a good thing. Not by a longshot. It’s actually a pretty disquieting reality. But it’d be naive to think it’s possible for many online businesses to even function or provide any service at all while keeping people’s privacy intact. The whole thing is based on collecting user data for the algorithm to push ads and offer relevant content, or at least an algorithmic interpretation of what the user might want to see. 

The same goes for tons of other online services, such as search engines or gaming platforms. Some more, some less, they all need user data in order to function — and, of course, to make money. The whole thing is based on offering a personalized experience, and collecting data is the only way to do that. In this regard, TikTok is not much different from Twitter or Facebook or many others. So why such selective outrage? The simple answer is that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is Chinese. And right now, the US and China aren’t exactly friends. 

Granted, it’s understandable that the American government might be worried. TikTok is, after all, subject to Chinese law, under which the company is compelled to comply with any request to share its users’ data with the government. And TikTok collects a lot of data, although Shou Zi Chew, its CEO, has assured that the company wouldn’t comply with any demand to share it. Chew also said that “all US user data is stored, by default, in the Oracle Cloud infrastructure” and that “access to that data is completely controlled by US personnel.” However, leaked audio from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings seems to indicate otherwise. 

There have also been claims of the app censoring content in certain countries, or shadow banning those who publish anything against the Chinese government’s agenda, as reported by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. British newspaper The Guardian revealed in 2019 similar information regarding censorship. On top of that, some people fear TikTok might be used to spread disinformation among Americans. Chew emphasized during the congressional hearings that misinformation and propaganda had “no place” on TikTok, but considering how misinformation and propaganda plague all social media platforms — not just Tik Tok — I wouldn’t take this at face value. 

This leads to the big question: is TikTok really all that different from other social media apps? And is it more dangerous for the users and the general public in any way? Many Western apps haven’t been precisely stellar when it comes to privacy, and yet they are all still here. Meta products, such as Facebook and Instagram, aggregate behavioral data with personal information in order to keep its users hooked and watching ads for as long as possible. Targeted advertising has a track record of contributing to so-called “digital redlining,” which is a way of perpetuating social discrimination and inequalities through technology. Such is the case of Facebook showing certain employment ads only to men, or a 2019 case settled by Facebook in which the company was accused of targeting ads based on “race, color, national origin or religion.” 

This is exactly what TikTok’s CEO pointed out during his congressional hearings: “I think we need to address the problem of privacy. I agree with you. I don’t think ownership is the issue here. With a lot of respect, American social companies don’t have a good track record with data privacy and user security. I mean, look at Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, just one example.” And indeed, it’s an important one. In 2018, it was revealed that Meta (then Facebook) had exposed users’ data to the political consulting firm without their consent. This data was then used to compile psychological user profiles and create tailor-made election campaigns, which included all sorts of manipulation techniques, such as the dissemination of fake news and other dirty tactics. 

So, online privacy? Yeah, right. There’s no such thing anymore. But there should be. And not only when it comes to Chinese-owned companies. Even though some degree of data collection is necessary, questionable practices abound in the digital world. We need international regulations and standards when it comes to user data, so that no matter where a company’s headquarters are, they are all held accountable for what they do with the information they collect.