The US is seemingly always warning users about intrusive Chinese applications, mostly citing privacy concerns. But it's hard to know whether this is driven by sincere concern, given the extreme surveillance measures taken by China, or by high digital competition between the world's two largest economies.
The TSA has become the latest federal agency to ban the use of #TikTok among its employees over data #privacy concerns.https://t.co/4nq12e848x
— Threatpost (@threatpost) February 25, 2020
National security always depends if the viewpoint. Here we talks about TikTok. What about Google, Facebook and others American firms?
— Bruno Hauzaree (@BrunoHauzaree) February 24, 2020
TSA bans employees from making TikTok videos https://t.co/FrvNA5tA8H
CEO of Reddit Steve Huffman said during a discussion in Silicon Valley last week that TikTok is "fundamentally parasitic," adding that "it’s always listening, and the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying."
Yet, technology experts have expressed their concern over singling out Chinese applications when it comes to privacy violations, arguing that US-based apps like Facebook and Google have also been listening to users' conversations and accessing their internet activity for years.
Shots fired at TikTok and China! pic.twitter.com/CntcuDhDgb
— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) October 17, 2019
Analysts are suggesting that America's war on TikTok stems from the fierce competition between the US and China in terms of technology. Facebook, for example, has reportedly been under a lot of pressure because of the "existential threat" that is TikTok, pushing developers to try copying some of the features enjoyed by users of the Chinese popular app to maintain the growth of their own user base.
