By: Hellen Zaboulani
In December, the Pentagon told US military to stay away from a singing and dancing app named TikTok, branding it a national-security risk.
As reported by Sophos, Department of Defense employees have been instructed not to download the popular Chinese owned social media platform, and if it is already on their devices to wipe it off. The Defense Information Systems Agency’s recommendation applies to all government-issued smartphones, and some even encourage members of the armed forces not to use it on their personal devices.
“Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command has blocked TikTok from government-issued mobile devices. This decision is consistent with our efforts to proactively address existing and emerging threats as we secure and defend our network. This block only applies to government-issued mobile devices,” read an email sent on Friday from Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Christopher Harrison to the New York Times.
In December 2019, the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page posted an email from Naval Network Warfare Command that advised users to uninstall the app from their iPhones and iPads. “TikTok is a cybersecurity threat. Users are instructed NOT to install the application on their mobile device. DO NOT install Tiktok on your Government furnished mobile device. If you have this application on your device, remove it immediately,” read the Facebook post. While removing the app will not undo any damage, it can prevent more information from being compromised.
TikTok is owned by Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. In 2017, the company spent $1 billion to buy the American social media app Musical.ly. It then combined it together with a Chinese app named Douyin, creating TikTok. It is estimated that TikTok has been downloaded in the US over 110 million times.
In October, Senators Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton asked Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, to identify the national security risks that TikTok and other Chinese-owned platforms might present.
In the meantime, the company has been doing its best to appease the US, even considering a spin off from its parent company. In October, the company said it would get some lawyers to review its content moderation policies, like Facebook and YouTube have done. This would entail addressing topics such as hate speech, child safety, misinformation, and cyber bullying.
At the end of December, TikTok even released it’s first transparency report. The report discloses how many requests TikTok received from local regulators during the first half of 2019, including government requests to access user information (including emergency requests) and requests for content removal. India made 107 requests for user info, which was the most from any country. The US made the second most requests with 79, followed by Japan which made 35 demands. The report connotes that China made no requests to remove data or to attain info. The problem is whether or not the US can rely on any information revealed, or on a promise to review moderation policies when the company has no governing entity that legally binds it to do so.
“The threats posed by social media are not unique to TikTok (though they may certainly be greater on that platform), and DoD personnel must be cautious when making any public or social media post,” said an US Air Force spokeswoman.