FCC:TikTok is "unacceptable security risk" and should be removed from app stores

[rcjordan]

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/privacy-2/2022/07/tiktok-is-unacceptable-security-risk-and-should-be-removed-from-app-stores-says-fcc/

[rcjordan]

UK Parliament has shut its TikTok account after MPs raised concerns about the firm's China links

[ergophobe]

This all has the feeling of the coming Cold War.

[rcjordan]

Maryland governor bans TikTok in state government | AP News

https://apnews.com/article/technology-wisconsin-kristi-noem-state-governments-scott-fitzgerald-2a5dc309df347c42c4fc792097c3d182

South Dakota banned it on state devices a couple of weeks ago.

[rcjordan]

Texas, Maryland, South Carolina and South Dakota joined Nebraska in banning the popular app from government phones

https://qz.com/tiktok-banned-government-devices-5-states-security-conc-1849873091

+
Utah governor orders TikTok ban for state government employees | Macon Telegraph

https://www.macon.com/news/politics-government/article269916932.html#storylink=mainstage_card

[rcjordan]

U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-unveil-bipartisan-bid-ban-chinas-tiktok-2022-12-13/

[littleman]

This will be interesting to watch.  Wasn't there talk of TikTok US being spun into it's own company a few years back to avoid getting closed down?

[rcjordan]

> Wasn't there talk of TikTok US

Yes, but that separation seems to have devolved into just a promise:

Dec 2022: Tiktok 'Has Not and Would Not' Share UK User Data With the Chinese Government
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-08/tiktok-has-not-and-would-not-share-uk-user-data-with-the-chinese-government

Nov 2022: TikTok makes clear European data can be accessed by China-based employees | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/tiktok-european-data-china-staff/index.html

July 2022: TikTok: Selected staff in China can access some US data • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/02/tiktok_china_us_data/

June 2022: Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access

[Drastic]

I know this is below our politicians' competency but we should be identifying and outlawing the actual security risk issue. Otherwise this is just whack-a-mole and they'll get better at hiding spying in future apps.

[rcjordan]

>whack-a-mole

Agreed.  I think TT is just the next mole after Huawei.  But I'm not sure we even know what the security exposures might be. Recall that we were totally blindsided by the fitness trackers mapping gov & mil installations.  About all we DO know is that Beijing is adept at running a sophisticated, very granular electronic surveillance state.  Debbie says that alone moves it to a credible threat and not just a Chinese Boogeyman issue.   

U.S. bans new Huawei, ZTE equipment sales, citing national security risk | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-fcc-bans-equipment-sales-imports-zte-huawei-over-national-security-risk-2022-11-25/ 

[rcjordan]

Pretty good article.


Why a growing number of states are cracking down on TikTok | CNN Business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/tech/tiktok-states/index.html

[rcjordan]

U.S. Senate passes bill to bar federal employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices

https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-dakota-iowa-join-other-204140918.html


related:
Ex-Twitter worker gets 3.5-year prison sentence for spying for Saudi Arabia | Malay Mail

https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2022/12/15/ex-twitter-worker-gets-35-year-prison-sentence-for-spying-for-saudi-arabia/45339

He was convicted of conveying sensitive information from the company's systems to help Saudi officials identify and locate Twitter users of interest.

[rcjordan]

TikTok might be too big to ban, no matter what lawmakers say | CNN Business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/tech/tiktok-ban-users

[rcjordan]

Bans on TikTok Gain Momentum in Washington and States - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/technology/tiktok-ban-government-issued-devices.html

[rcjordan]

US budget bill likely to pass & includes TikTok ban on federal devices.  With large companies, military, state, & federal devices banning it, that's a significant swathe of users.