The TikTok Implications

Downloaded from Wikipedia.

There is a part of me that simply says “fuck TikTok, it’s a privacy nightmare of a shit app” and be done with it. In fact I did just that several years ago, probably some time in 2021 after a quick glance at the app itself (go here for thoughts on looking yourself). Now the USA is attempting to ban TikTok by stating that its owner - Bytedance - has to sell it or the app will be banned for use in the USA. I’m not even going to speculate on whether this is constitutional or what it says about freedom of speech in general, but there are a few things people are not considering with this whole TikTok thing.

Tinfoil Hat Mode

No one seems to have brought this up, at least I haven’t read anything like it, so I will bring it up here - there is a theory that this whole TikTok thing is a careful reaction to some sort of classified intelligence finding involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) gaining access to raw data and using it to spy on targets within the USA and/or its allies. Sounds crazy, right? However I do want you to think about this seriously for a moment before dismissing it.

First off, if this is true they are not going to say why specifically TikTok is “bad”, because it is classified. Additionally they will make up a weak excuse regarding this, by simply saying the PRC can access the data so it is a privacy violation of Americans. Of course this brings into question the fact that pretty much all other large social media platforms are also collecting the same type of data, and while they are not owned by the PRC, they are still collecting the data and profiting off of it on a massive scale. So why not go after these other social media platforms too, as they are just as invasive from a privacy standpoint? Maybe just say “you can’t collect personal data or you’re banned” and that would solve the TikTok issue as relayed to us by the powers that be, but also deal with Meta, X, and probably thousands of other shitty phone apps.

But no, it’s just TikTok, and because they are owned by a company that uses assets such as giant data centers that the PRC could in fact access, they and only they are singled out. It implies that something is going on the U.S. Government wants stopped, yet we haven’t received a straight answer.

An Alternate Tinfoil Hat

If all social media platforms are collecting data that can be harvested to tell a “harvester” a whole lot about a social media user, why would the US Government single out TikTok and not the others? One fun conspiracy theory is that Uncle Sam does not have access to TikTok data but does have access to the other social media platforms (legally or otherwise), and therefore if TikTok is popular with at least some demographic that the various spy agencies in D.C. want to spy on, then they certainly don’t want the PRC to have the data.

I don’t necessarily buy into this scenario myself, although the believers bring up Snowden, the AT&T/NSA incident, and all kinds of things going back to Echelon and the various Five Eyes conspiracies. I mean, I get the perspective but I just don’t buy into it.

What Do I Really Believe

I’m leaning towards the first tinfoil hat scenario. This is because I do have a bit of history with this type of scenario, so to speak. I’ve worked with, am friends with, and had many a private conversation with those involved with the various spook agencies. This whole TikTok scenario is consistent with that line of thinking. The level of actual attacks via APT attackers against US Government agencies and various government contractors is staggering. When I was actually doing this work in the past we’d see 2-3 attacks per week, and I was working at a place that saw comparatively little attacks. Others were seeing 2-3 per day. And you would occasionally have official government statements about China and cyber, but otherwise not much made it to the public.

So Should The USA Ban TikTok?

I have no idea if this whole ban thing is a good or bad idea. Bytedance will of course challenge it, and there will be an entire army of folks online that will discuss this as an attack on free speech or an inadequate step forward that should address all gathering of privacy data of online users regardless of app. I’m not a lawyer, and like the vast majority of us I don’t have all the facts behind the real reasons these actions are being taken. I suspect this is a spying issue, a very public way of USA sending PRC a message that says “we know what you’re up to.” In other words, while there are various side effects that impact us, this is something that regardless of public opinion is going to play out with us as mere spectators.