Well derrr, you think … has the West and specifically Australia got a case of collective amnesia?

–just because they want to buy what we dig up out of the ground

–and we all of a sudden can buy cheap everything it seems to have wiped aside our common sense and intellectual fortitude

IS it that we have forgotten this is a TOTALITARIAN Regime that doesn’t have …

-an independent judicial system

-free and fair elections   

-democratic systems, human rights, the list goes on

AND we are expected to think they are all fine and dandy with a respect for the sovereignty and dignity of democratic nations …

You must be kidding! Grace Tobin writes for ABC 7.30 in ‘It’s time to talk about TikTok and what it’s doing with our kids’ data’

PHOTO:  TikTok has built up a large number of social media users in a short space of time. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic

‘TikTok is under scrutiny in Australia for its ties to China, with some of the country’s top cyber and national security minds warning the app could potentially be used by Beijing authorities to influence and monitor millions of Australian users.

Key points:

• There are concerns that Chinese-owned app TikTok could be used to monitor users
• TikTok has 500 million users worldwide, mostly children and teens
• MP Andrew Hastie says TikTok’s potential ties to the Chinese Government pose a security risk

The wildly popular app, which boasts half a billion users, is the first Chinese-owned social media platform to seriously crack the western world.

Fergus Ryan, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), warned parents of young users not to be fooled by TikTok’s similarities to US-owned platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

“The amount of data that all these apps collect on their users is very concerning,” he told 7.30.

“But the key difference between Facebook and Instagram and TikTok is that there really isn’t much of a firewall between Chinese tech companies and the Chinese state.”

PHOTO: Andrew Hastie is concerned that data from TikTok will allow the Chinese Government to influence future leaders. (ABC News)

Like most social media apps, TikTok collects a huge amount of personal information about its users by demanding access to their phone’s camera, microphone, contact list and location using GPS tracking.

-could TikTok be sharing private information with authorities in Beijing?

–China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 means the Chinese Government can compel businesses to share information with them

Mr Hastie raised these concerns:

-teenagers are our future political, economic, cultural and military leaders

.their information needs to be protected long term

-their data could be used for nefarious purposes

-Labor MP Tim Watts sounded the alarm over TikTok’s alleged censorship in December

-cyber-security experts confirm the concerns are legitimate; question where Australia’s data is ending up; and what it is being used for

FURTHER … there are …

‘Concerns around the extent of TikTok’s artificial intelligence capabilities, including facial recognition, may have contributed to a recent decision by the Australian Defence Force barring the app from use on work devices.‘

Mr Hastie is urging the ADF to go even further than banning TikTok; not just work phones or devices but personal devices because …

-espionage can be conducted on social media platforms

Fergus Ryan, an expert in Chinese social media has carried out a year-long study of TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat. He has raised concerns that TikTok is removing content sensitive to China, and that our data could end up in Beijing!

Labor has proposed TikTok be scrutinised with the backing of the Government to examine the risk to our democracy from foreign interference through social media

PHOTO: Despite regulatory pushback, TikTok is opening offices around the world. (Reuters: Danish Siddiqui)

Mr Ryan said:

“They’re serious about the Australian market, and they really want to increase their business here,” Mr Ryan said.

–TikTok had advertised for a number of roles within its Sydney office to establish relationships with policymakers, government authorities and advisors

READ MORE!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/should-we-trust-chinese-owned-tiktok-personal-data/11962086