In today’s era of breakneck-paced digital development, social media use has become a double-edged sword. It provides an unprecedented degree of connection, but with that comes unprecedented privacy and security risks.
TikTok, a social media platform bewitching young people around the globe, has once more become an international focal point. This is not only a result of social phenomena being pushed and promoted through the platform, but also the hidden potential for data security issues, directly involving the privacy of millions of people.
A recent edition of Fortune magazine published a bombshell report, quoting several former TikTok employees, using nicknames to maintain anonymity. They said that even if TikTok were to openly say that its data from the US were stored entirely in US data centers on US soil, asserting that there was enough distance between the data and TikTok’s China-based founding company, ByteDance, such a statement would be far removed from reality.
The former employees interviewed for the article said that about every 14 days, a massive amount of US user data are transmitted to Beijing. The data include not only users’ real names, e-mails and IP addresses, but also their geolocation data and population statistics for each user’s location.
It is difficult to downplay the risks of such data harvesting.
Although these data are one small part of the overall data TikTok collects, they could be used to carry out precision-targeted attacks on specific people, such as through phishing attempts and other illegal activities, Johns Hopkins University data security specialists said.
Additionally, the data harvesting could be used to conduct mass surveillance and political manipulation.
This is a massive concern for societies that promote democracy and personal freedom.
More concretely, the TikTok issue is an especially weighty issue in Taiwan, a democratic and free society.
The nation has extremely high requirements to fulfill when it comes to data security and personal privacy protection.
However, given the broad use of TikTok among young Taiwanese, the sort of data transfers the company engages in is undoubtedly a challenge for national security. Not only is there a risk to personal data security, but the entire country’s information security environment.
The government has taken steps to face this challenge, with Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) announcing that he would push for legislation that limits TikTok’s activities. This is an indication of the government’s resolve to protect data security.
However, Taiwanese should not rely solely on government efforts. All of society, from individuals to academic institutions to private enterprises and beyond, must take steps together to protect data.
Taiwanese must raise their own awareness on protecting personal data to avoid leaking information.
With globalization and the daily creep toward digitalization, data security and protection of personal privacy have become worldwide issues.
The fracas surrounding TikTok is a reminder that the whole world is needed to face the challenge.
When it comes to Taiwan, this is not only an issue of technology, but also a vital issue concerning the country’s future and the security of its people. Through the joint efforts of all of society, Taiwan can maintain vigilance in this digital war, safeguard the security of personal data and guarantee the right to privacy.
Fang Kai-hung is an assistant professor at Taipei University of Maritime Technology.
Translated by Tim Smith
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