TikTok involved in data leak! FFC asks Apple and Google to remove TikTok?

It is learned that the US Federal Communications Commission (FFC) asked Apple and Google to remove the TikTok application from their App Store and Google Play Store online stores because TikTok "collects a large amount of personal and sensitive data, ranging from how it uses data to biometric identifiers, posing a national security risk."

The FFC said TikTok can not only see its users' dance videos, but also collect search and browsing history, biometric identifiers, interactive messages, drafts and metadata, as well as text, images and videos stored on the device clipboard.

Apple and Google must respond to request

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Chai posted on Twitter, FFC Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote that Tiktok "poses a national security risk due to the volume of data it has accumulated and the apparent ease with which Beijing can access that data."

Apple and Google must respond to the commissioner's request by July 8, either removing the app or answering why TikTok remains in their respective app stores.

TikTok pledges to fully protect user data and U.S. national security interests

Brendan Carr reports that Chinese engineers were able to repeatedly access U.S. user data based on leaked audio of internal meetings. TikTok points out that this report is misleading because ByteDance has promised to store U.S. data on servers in the United States. Michael Beckerman, head of public policy for the Americas at TikTok, said that the claim that TikTok is collecting browser history is "completely false" because they have a U.S. security team. A TikTok executive said in an interview that the very successful app does not have any security issues. On July 1, TikTok is reaching a final agreement with the U.S. government that will "fully protect user data and U.S. national security interests."

According to the latest report, TikTok was downloaded 19 million times in the United States in the first quarter of 2022. Currently, this short video app has beaten Instagram with 3.5 billion downloads and is the most downloaded app in the world. Users spend at least 46 minutes on the app on average every day, and its strong appeal makes it stand out from the competition.

Editor ✎Estella/

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