In the United States, mainly within the government, TikTok, the popular Chinese video-sharing app owned by ByteDance, continues to be viewed as a threat to national security.

Let’s see the reasons why this is so:

– data is shared: TikTok, as well as its competitors Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, benefits from the data. Many critics worry that all this information is being processed by a Chinese company, but others believe that this threat is overblown and that malicious actors can access this valuable data no matter who owns the platform and where. be found. In that regard, TikTok has announced that it has committed to fully move US user data to US-only servers in a project known as “Project Texas.”

– Espionage: TikTok, like any app, could potentially give access to a user’s entire phone. This could include turning on the device’s microphone or camera without the user noticing, just like Pegasus spyware does. Many believe that TikTok is the Chinese version of Pegasus, ready to spy on millions of American teenagers.

– Censorship: Another potential threat mentioned by cybersecurity experts is the ability of the Chinese government to censor content on TikTok to protect the priorities of the Communist Party. TikTok claims it has never intervened in content in a way that would satisfy the Chinese government, but given the high level of censorship in China, analysts warn there is a risk that Beijing will lean on TikTok.

– Disinformation: Another concern is that the Chinese government could use TikTok as a means to misinform American society. An investigation by Global Witness and New York University’s Cybersecurity for Democracy team has already suggested that TikTok failed to leak large amounts of false election information in the weeks leading up to last month’s US midterm elections. In the experiment, TikTok “performed worse than any other platform tested,” the researchers found. In response, TikTok has implemented security measures related to election content and has required verification of government and political accounts.

– China: Some experts wonder if TikTok will be able to meet concerns about its origins in China, especially after Republicans retook the US House of Representatives in January. Most of the arguments against TikTok come from the Republican Party, which has a history of being tougher on Beijing than Democrats. The Biden administration is believed to be divided on whether to force the Chinese owner of TikTok to divest its US operations.

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