The Clock is Ticking on TikTok

There are more than 100 million TikTok active daily users in the U.S. Last week, Australia banned TikTok on all government devices, joining the U.S., Britain, Canada, India, the European Union, and dozens of other countries. Half of the fifty states have already passed laws prohibiting or partially banning access to the wildly popular Chinese social media app.

The RESTRICT Act (S. 686) was introduced last month with rare bi-partisan support. If I were a betting man (and I am), I’d bet $100 that some version of S.686 will pass and become law.

The clock is ticking on TikTok. But why?

Privacy and security experts have been concerned about TikTok’s use of users’ private data and who gets to see and use that data. After I saw a clip of Joe Rogan reading off some of TikTok’s Terms of Service (TOS), I decided to take a look myself. The updated TOS can be found here. 

After reading the TOS, I deleted the app from my phone. I never really used the app personally anyway. Then I got curious. I went down a rabbit hole. I started looking at the TOS for a lot of other apps. Some of the biggest names in tech have similar access to your data and privacy. Social media giant Facebook can get access to just about everything. Weather apps, like The Weather Channel and AccuWeather, are equally as cringy. If you play mobile games, like Words With Friends or Angry Birds, you’re in the same boat.

Every app accesses your personal data. It’s a trade-off. You get a free app that does some cool stuff, and you pay with your privacy. So at the end of the day, ask yourself, do you trust the company that gave you the technology? If yes, download it away. If not, delete it.