A ban on the TikTok social media app is unlikely, but there is plenty for users – and especially parents – to be aware of, says Adelaide Tech Guy Richard Pascoe.
This week there have been calls to ban the app in Australia over “national security and spying concerns”.
Richard told FIVEAA’s Jade Robran on Tuesday:
“It’s owned by a parent company called ByteDance, which is from China. It’s worth about $75 billion. It’s got one billion monthly active suers. TikTok has also been fraught with problems, I think, since day one when it came on but it seems to be the darling of the media in Australia…
“People don’t seem to criticise this company at all. I wonder about that sometimes when we see that.
“I have problems with it… there is a law in China, China’s national intelligence law of 2017 means the Chinese government can compel businesses to share information with them. So for all the users of TikTok in essence all the information you share online is probably shared with China.
“When you install TikTok it wants to access your camera, your microphone, your contact list and your location as well. You need to agree to all that to make sure that TikTok installs properly. You know when you copy something on your clipboard on your computer? TikTok’s been grabbing all that stuff that you keep copying as well. Apple found that out so they’re going to squash that in iSO14. It’s been fined $5.7 million for violating US child privacy laws.
“A lot of things about it make me uneasy.
“I don’t think it will be banned. I can’t see it being banned. We’ve seen where they tried to ban pirate sites, there’s always ways to get around things. And I think it’s a bit too big at the moment to basically stop. So it’s about making sure if you’re a parent you need to talk to your kids about what they see on TikTok for a start.”
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