As TikTok Promises US Servers, FCC Commissioner Remains Critical of Data Privacy (cnn.com) 28
On Tuesday Brendan Carr, a commissioner on America's Federal Communications Commission,warned on Twitter that TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, "doesn't just see its users dance videos:
It collects search and browsing histories, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages and metadata, plus it has collected the text, images, and videos that are stored on a device's clipboard. Tiktok's pattern of misrepresentations coupled with its ownership by an entity beholden to the Chinese Community Party has resulted in U.S. military branches and national security agencies banning it from government devices.... The CCP has a track record longer than a CVS receipt of conducting business & industrial espionage as well as other actions contrary to U.S. national security, which is what makes it so troubling that personnel in Beijing are accessing this sensitive and personnel data.
Today CNN interviewed Carr, while also bringing viewers an update. TikTok's China-based employees accessed data on U.S. TikTok users, BuzzFeed had reported — after which TikTok announced it intends to move backup data to servers in the U.S., allowing them to eventually delete U.S. data from their servers. But days later Republican Senator Blackburn was still arguing to Bloomberg that "Americans need to know if they are on TikTok, communist China has their information."
And FCC commissioner Carr told CNN he remains suspicious too: Carr: For years TikTok has been asked directly by U.S. lawmakers, 'Is any information, any data, being accessed by personnel back in Beijing?' And rather than being forthright and saying 'Yes, and here's the extent of it and here's why we don't think it's a problem,' they've repeatedly said 'All U.S. user data is stored in the U.S.," leaving people with the impression that there's no access.... This recent bombshell reporting from BuzzFeed shows at least some of the extent to which massive amounts of data has allegedy been going back to Beijing.
And that's a problem, and not just a national security problem. But to me it looks like a violation of the terms of the app store, and that's why I wrote a letter to Google and Apple saying that they should remove TikTok and boot them out of the app store... I've left them until July 8th to give me a response, so we'll see what they say. I look forward to hearing from them. But there's precedence for this. Before when applications have taken data surreptitiously and put it in servers in China or otherwise been used for reasons other than servicing the application itself, they have booted them from the app store. And so I would hope that they would just apply the plain terms of their policy here.
When CNN points out the FCC doesn't have jurisdiction over social media, Carr notes "speaking for myself as one member" they've developed "expertise in terms of understanding how the CCP can effectively take data and infiltrate U.S. communications' networks. And he points out that the issue is also being raised by Congressional hearings and by Republican and Democrat Senators signing joint letters together, so "I'm just one piece of a broader federal effort that's looking at the very serious risks that come from TikTok." Carr: At the end of the day, it functions as sophisticated surveillance tool that is harvesting vast amounts of data on U.S. users. And I think TikTok should answer point-blank, has any CCP member obtained non-public user data or viewed it. Not to answer with a dodge, and say they've never been asked for it or never received a request. Can they say no, no CCP member has ever seen non-public U.S. user data.
Carr's appearance was followed by an appearance by TikTok's VP and head of public policy for the Americas. But this afternoon Carr said on Twitter that TikTok's response contradicted its own past statements: Today, a TikTok exec said it was "simply false" for me to say that they collect faceprints, browsing history, & keystroke patterns.
Except, I was quoting directly from TikTok's own disclosures.
TikTok's concerning pattern of misrepresentations about U.S. user data continues.
Today CNN interviewed Carr, while also bringing viewers an update. TikTok's China-based employees accessed data on U.S. TikTok users, BuzzFeed had reported — after which TikTok announced it intends to move backup data to servers in the U.S., allowing them to eventually delete U.S. data from their servers. But days later Republican Senator Blackburn was still arguing to Bloomberg that "Americans need to know if they are on TikTok, communist China has their information."
And FCC commissioner Carr told CNN he remains suspicious too: Carr: For years TikTok has been asked directly by U.S. lawmakers, 'Is any information, any data, being accessed by personnel back in Beijing?' And rather than being forthright and saying 'Yes, and here's the extent of it and here's why we don't think it's a problem,' they've repeatedly said 'All U.S. user data is stored in the U.S.," leaving people with the impression that there's no access.... This recent bombshell reporting from BuzzFeed shows at least some of the extent to which massive amounts of data has allegedy been going back to Beijing.
And that's a problem, and not just a national security problem. But to me it looks like a violation of the terms of the app store, and that's why I wrote a letter to Google and Apple saying that they should remove TikTok and boot them out of the app store... I've left them until July 8th to give me a response, so we'll see what they say. I look forward to hearing from them. But there's precedence for this. Before when applications have taken data surreptitiously and put it in servers in China or otherwise been used for reasons other than servicing the application itself, they have booted them from the app store. And so I would hope that they would just apply the plain terms of their policy here.
When CNN points out the FCC doesn't have jurisdiction over social media, Carr notes "speaking for myself as one member" they've developed "expertise in terms of understanding how the CCP can effectively take data and infiltrate U.S. communications' networks. And he points out that the issue is also being raised by Congressional hearings and by Republican and Democrat Senators signing joint letters together, so "I'm just one piece of a broader federal effort that's looking at the very serious risks that come from TikTok." Carr: At the end of the day, it functions as sophisticated surveillance tool that is harvesting vast amounts of data on U.S. users. And I think TikTok should answer point-blank, has any CCP member obtained non-public user data or viewed it. Not to answer with a dodge, and say they've never been asked for it or never received a request. Can they say no, no CCP member has ever seen non-public U.S. user data.
Carr's appearance was followed by an appearance by TikTok's VP and head of public policy for the Americas. But this afternoon Carr said on Twitter that TikTok's response contradicted its own past statements: Today, a TikTok exec said it was "simply false" for me to say that they collect faceprints, browsing history, & keystroke patterns.
Except, I was quoting directly from TikTok's own disclosures.
TikTok's concerning pattern of misrepresentations about U.S. user data continues.
Barking up the wrong tree (Score:1, Flamebait)
The FCC is worried that people's private data might end up in Beijing, implying that Beijing is where the sumbitches are by definition and positing an easy-to-sell and demagogic but false equivalence between nationality and thread.
I'd be more impressed if they worried that sumbitches might have access to the data, wherever the sumbitches might be. Because that's the real concern.
But then they'd have to start asking awkward questions to Facebook, Google, Microsoft or CloudFlare and that doesn't really fit th
Re:Barking up the wrong tree (Score:5, Interesting)
I do find it amusing that the FCC are having the same issues and concerns with Chinese companies that the EU are having with US companies with regard to user data...
Re: (Score:2)
IMHO, practically, this trend seems more like a protectionist measure to force companies to rent or install servers in the countries they do business with.
Security and confidentially wise, what would effectively stop the companies from still accessing from or replicating the data to wherever they want?
Are each government of every country implementing such measures going to create a special traffic monitoring police which has full access to each server? Data transfer/access could easily be obfuscated by goin
Re: (Score:2)
Or, analogously, the Europeans are having the same issues with Russia's military capacity as China is having with US capabilities.
Consider who is your enemy and who is your friend.
Re: (Score:1)
Given how much the US under Trump fucked over Europe, Im not inclined to ever call the US our "friend". The enemy of our enemy is about the best label I will accept for that relationship.
And given how much US interference led directly to tensions between Russia and Europe, I'd say that the US is in it solely for their own gain. So fuck them as much as Russia.
Re: (Score:2)
that doesn't really fit the "Murica good, China bad" narrative pushed by the administration.
Real reason: If it's on a server in the USA then they can sift through the data at will (with a "court order" of course...).
If it's in China? Not so much.
The "China bad" thing makes it an easy sell to the US consumers, that's why they do it - the public needs an enemy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
I've got a better idea (Score:4, Insightful)
How about we just outlaw collection of this kind of data at all?
Re: (Score:2)
How about we just outlaw collection of this kind of data at all?
What and work to "destroy" social media?
FAR too many jobs were created and depend on the Social Media Complex now. No way in hell will anyone stop that, harm be damned.
Only the billionaires' whims matter (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
At the end of the day, no one cares about 'far too many jobs'. All anyone cares about are the billionaires' whims and the direction of the wind.
All billionaires actually care about is making money.
I doubt even a single billionaire knows or gives a shit about whatever "whims" are flying in the wind of social media addicts.
Re: I've got a better idea (Score:2)
I think social media can survive without needing to track our every single action.
Re: (Score:2)
I think social media can survive without needing to track our every single action.
That's cute. Tell that to the intelligence agencies who are addicted to buying our every single action. You know what they call PRISM today? Facebook.
You act like social media is doin' it for the 'gram.
Re: I've got a better idea (Score:2)
Oh I know the world we live in and I have no illusions. I just don't like it.
Bad technical advice to lawmakers? (Score:3, Insightful)
What kind of technical advisors do U.S. lawmakers have who tell them that putting servers in the U.S. makes it impossible for them to be accessed from China? Or is this apparent ignorance purposeful?
Re: (Score:1)
It's purposeful of course. They don't actually care about the tracking per se, only who's doing it.
I'd love to see them be even-handed and apply the same reasoning to tracking in general.
Re: (Score:2)
Having servers within CONUS only (somewhat) guarantees a decent investigation AFTER a compromise happens. Within CONUS means within the reach of FBI search and physical seizure.
Nothing more.
Same goes for many types of other sensitive information held by the Defense Industrial Base.
Irrelevant. (Score:2)
So long as they are based in China, the CCP will have access to all the information that they have. Having servers located in China, the US, Switzerland, or even the moon does not change the fact that the CCP will have unfettered access to them.
^ This. (Score:2)
No multinational company with any ties to, or business in or with China exists without direct CCP ties ("local partnerships") and oversight.
people need to go to jail for privacy violations (Score:5, Insightful)
Until this starts happening no one's going to take privacy seriously.
"longer than a CVS receipt" (Score:3)
look at this (Score:1)
Recently, I saw an article about how to spy on tik tok [celltrackingapps.com]. And now I’m thinking about how to protect myself.
Carr notes "speaking for myself" = Ajit Pai, DT (Score:2)
Trust (Score:2)
I trust TikTok to do more to protect my privacy than the US government.