As reported by NBC, the U.S. is “looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Monday. His comments come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China and as scrutiny on TikTok and Chinese technology firms continues to grow.
When asked in a Fox News interview if the U.S. should be looking at banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Pompeo said: “We are taking this very seriously. We are certainly looking at it.” “We have worked on this very issue for a long time,” he said. “Whether it was the problems of having Huawei technology in your infrastructure we’ve gone all over the world and we’re making real progress getting that out. We declared ZTE a danger to American national security,” Pompeo added, citing the two Chinese telecommunications networking companies.
The argument to distrust TikTok seems to be more of a threat than a reality. It is extremely difficult to ban an app which is targeted at an age group which are savvy enough to circumnavigate the majority of boundaries put in place. If anything, it could even make the app more popular.
However, users must be reminded about the privacy and security risks that any app beholds and we all need constant reminders that once any data is on the internet it can remain there forever. Such data can be used against you in certain circumstances so it must be said that people should err on the side of caution when posting information and allowing apps permissions to other areas on a device.