U.S. communications regulators want to remove TikTok from the app store because of espionage concerns

 U.S. communications regulators consider banning TikTok from app stores on Apple and Google because of data security concerns related to Chinese-owned companies I'm asking you to.

 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr wrote to the CEOs of both companies, warning that the most popular video sharing apps are not compliant with the requirements. Did. Of their app store policy.

"TikTok doesn't look superficial. It's not just an app for sharing funny videos and memes. It's sheep clothes," Kerr said in a letter. "Basically, TikTok acts as an advanced monitoring tool to collect large amounts of personal and sensitive data."

"TikTok is clearly checked by Beijing for its sensitive data. It's clear that due to its extensive data collection combined with no access, it poses unacceptable national security risks. "

In the letter, Carr is executing various fouls in multiple companies. Listing Instances Privacy and Data Security Laws Around the World. He requires Google and Apple to remove the ability to use the app on mobile phones. 

July If he refused to do so by the 8th, he said, "The app combines the unauthorized access of U.S. personal data and sensitive information by people in Beijing with TikTok's misleading expressions and patterns of behavior. The rationale for your company's conclusion that it does not violate store policy. "

This letter arrived after US news agency Buzzfeed reported last weekthat data about US users was repeatedly accessed by mainland Chinese entities. TikTok subsequently announced "Plans to Remove US Users' Private". Data from its own data center and a complete pivot to the deployed Oracle cloud server in the United States. " 

China has "unlimited access" to data

 John Zabiuk, chair of the cybersecurity program at the North Alberta Institute of Technology, said the United States is easy. It may seem like a good solution, but it doesn't address the root of the problem.

"The question is who can still access the data. It's still TikTok," he told CBC in an interview, assuming a Chinese if the company can access the data. He said it was safe. So is the government.

"We collect a great deal of personal information about our users and store it in many cases in mainland China, which is freely accessible to the government."

This is not the first time it has been criticized in the United States for relations with the Chinese government. Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly opposed the company until he tried to ban by presidential order

WATCH | Trump has attempted to ban TikTok and WeChat in the United States: China-based ByteDance is considering a deal with Oracle and Walmart, but the deal may not be as good as what US President Donald Trump demanded from the company.

This led to discussions between US companies, including Oracle, Microsoft, and even Walmart, about the acquisition of the company, but as a result of a legal objection. , These talks have collapsed and the plan has ordered a national security review of the app underway by the next Byden administration.

Last week,six Republican senators asked the Treasury for up-to-date information on the progress of the review.

This is not the first time TikTok has been banned from the country if the push was successful. India banned apps in 2020 due to national security concerns. AndAustralia is currently considering the same

Zabiuk says the app violates Google and Apple's own app rules due to the way the app is built. It says that it looks like.

"They can make changes to the code and every time they launch the app ... It may be doing something different," he said.

Watch | Why This Canadian TikToker says it's hard to stop: Vancouver-based content producer Danielle Ryan says TikTok has grown her business dramatically in ways not possible on other platforms.

'It's part of my livelihood'

Despite these concerns, TikTok user Danielle Ryan uses the app. He says it will take a long time to quit. It has evolved rapidly from a little ridiculous fun to a full-time job as a content creator.

"I started TikTok almost two years ago, which was actually a joke, but soon escalated to something bigger. And now it's part of my life. It's a department, "Ryan told CBC News. interview.

Vancouver-based Ryan used other social media channels to promote his previous businesses, such as yoga studios, but he can't extend his reach beyond certain thresholds. was.

Only when she started making TikToks about business growth did she find a growing and enthusiastic audience of small business owners seeking help.

Currently, she runs a coaching service for small business owners and states that she is "fully dependent" on TikTok to find and serve customers.

"Shifting is essentially like starting over," she said. “TikTok and other social media apps that currently exist have very different business growth potential.” 

Canada could follow a US ban. Expert

TikTok is not the only Chinese company to face criticism of data security. Earlier this summer,Canada banned Chinese telecommunications component maker Huaweifrom being installed on Canada's 5G networks.

The rationale for that decision was the same as quoted in the case of TikTok: National Security.

Government officials claim that allowing Huawei access to Canada's confidential communications network poses a security risk due to its ties to the Chinese government. 

Zabiuk states that if the United States moves to ban TikTok, Canada is likely to follow suit.

"This is a very popular app, offends a lot of people [but] The architecture and how it works is very dangerous. ".

The CBC has asked the Canadian Department of Canadian Heritage and TikTok's Canadian representative, who govern the CRTC, the telecommunications regulator, for comment. Those inquiries were not returned.