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7th most downloaded mobile app of the decade on its way to being banned?
What is Tik Tok?
Tik Tok is a very popular social network platform with ByteDance as the parent company. It was launched in late 2016, but it was only after merging with Musical.ly in 2018 that the application emerged to be in demand. The users can make short videos of 3-15 seconds while lip-syncing, acting, dancing, and so on.
It is a platform dedicated to showcase talent and creativity. It can also be a great platform to know about cultures around the world. Many users from all walks of life and from all corners started to get the recognition they deserved.
Why is the U.S.A. showing concerns?
United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo stated that the individuals who operate the app were putting the “private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party”. They believe that the app could be used to spy on American citizens.
Donald Trump came up with the statement “It’s a big business. Look, what happened with China with this virus, what they’ve done to this country and to the entire world is disgraceful.”
In 2018, Tik Tok became the most downloaded Chinese app in the U.S., creating history as per a report by TechCrunch.
What does Tik Tok have to say?
Tik Tok denies it’s data to be subject to Chinese Law or data centers to be based in China. Tik Tok conveyed that the user data of the country was itself in the U.S.A. and the backup in Singapore.
The spokesperson of Tik Tok in told CNBC, “TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the U.S. We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”
Is it possible for U.S.A to implement the ban?
According to a report by Sensor Tower, China is the biggest App Eco-System in the world.
The General Council, The Electric Frontier Foundation, Kurt Opsahl revealed “There is no law that would authorize the federal government to ban ordinary American from using the app.”
U.S. Government had added a very known name to the U.S. Economic Blacklist, Huawei Technologies, earlier. The government had speculated security reasons that Huawei could use the equipment for spying.
Even if the ban is implemented and Alphabet’s Inc’s Google Play & Apple’s Inc’s App Store removes the app, there would still be users wanting the app, which would lead them to download it from unofficial and unreliable sources thereby exposing them to greater risks. Also, the users who have the application installed on their phones would still be able to access it. On the other hand, there are also a lot of users who earn money through Tik Tok, this might become a problem for them.
Earlier Amazon had asked the employees to remove Tik Tok from their devices due to security reasons.
