The tensions between US and China has reached an unprecedented level as claims of espionage were thrown by both countries. The tensions has sky rocketed mostly when the president Donald Trump started to impose tariffs and publicly stating that Chinese are stealing Americans high-tech products and remanufactured back in their mainland which was long being criticized over poor human rights treatment for minority.
China, on the other side, denied such statements while regarding the whole public campaign against Chinese elite business as a way to weaken their growth so they won’t take the front-line of high-tech solutions from the United States.
The national security issue has been a hot debatable topic since the early 2018 when US spy officials among with other western nations warned about possible espionage threats if the Chinese elite company, Huawei, equipments are used in other countries. Perhaps the concern were deemed legitimate due to the announcement of China’s National Intelligence Laws that passed in 2017 which require organizations to co-operate and collaborate in national intelligence work.
China then rebuked that it is all about harming a massive business interests that will leave countries who could not keep pace with Huawei behind so retaliation is the best options if an act that impacts Chinese national organizations comes in place. However, Huawei vowed that it would never hand data to the Chinese government yet the China’s National Intelligence Laws still in place.
Douyin is a popular short-video platform operated by the parent company ByteDance and has its worldwide twin version TikTok. The platform found its place in the middle of previews concerns as it is deemed to pose a legitimate national security threats due to its vast popularity while it follows the same China’s National Intelligence Laws. TikTok collects much more than the short-videos users share on the platform. It collects location, interests, cookies, and other personal information to manipulate contents on the app that convey particular information to build young users’ perceptions.
TikTok is not different but actually similar to Facebook in particular and most of other social networking sites out there. They have one main common factor, Behavioral targeting, which delivers a cost-effective advertising environment at the cost of users’ personal data. TikTok became problematic because it followed the same business model as to generate revenue but such model is full of risks that concern systems in which their value indicate the necessity of one’s wellbeing regarding informed decisions.
Since the last decade, we have seen that not only social media are evolving, but also communication approaches such as behavioral targeting. In 2018, federal agents in the United States discovered a manipulative targeting system, Psychographic Targeting, which was possibly used to manipulate the 2016 US election. Classifying TikTok as a national threat may not be the solution for the near future but finding a privacy-friendly alternative of behavioral advertising may be the best.