Tiktok: A Year of Trial and Tribulation
The year 2020 was quite the pivotal year, with history being made right and left, people strived to stay connected and in-the-loop — digitally. Thanks to Covid-19 digital technology boomed, with apps such as Zoom, Netflix, and especially Tiktok, rapidly growing in popularity. Tiktok, initially referred to as “Music.ly” is a Chinese video sharing and social networking app created in 2016 by a company titled, “Bytedance.” In the past year, Tiktok has dominated all other social media platforms and has soared in growth with millions of users downloading the app daily. Along with Tiktok’s rapid popularity came rapid problems as well. With everything from inability to sensor inappropriate content to privacy issues, Tiktok is on route to being 2020’s most problematic digital company.
Although Tiktok has had a plethora of user issues, their most notable in the year 2020 has been their various data security and privacy violations. According to Forbes magazine, Tiktok has faced two major issues; tapping into user clipboards and releasing software with security vulnerabilities. Essentially, TikTok has been known to tap the data on user’s devices without permission, which can often seem intrusive and concerning for it’s users. Further, these privacy issues and user tracking mechanisms can lead to larger problems involving falsified information and propaganda which are pushed out to hungry users who often use TikTok as their primary news source.
Fortunately, security leaders and professionals have outwardly spoken on this digital company’s issues. Chief Information Security Officer Thronton-Trump reported TikTok’s issue with data privacy and security stating that “TikTok has mass manipulated social media users with false information, which can cause problems in society and for our democracy.” TikTok has not only been caught tracking its users, they also have been known to spread misinformation by mapping user trends from user demographics. Further action by political leaders was taken as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that the app would be banned in the United States starting November of 2020 due to its invasion of user’s private information. Likewise, many CEOs, from Wells Fargo to Amazon, encouraged their employees to delete TikTok out of fear of the app’s repeated data tracking and security violations. Unfortunately, this ban was overridden by TikTok’s creator base, as many creator’s argued that TikTok has become their primary source of income through TikTok’s “creator fund” which generates revenue through views and paid ads.
In efforts to better these data and security problems as well as out of fear of being banned from the U.S, TikTok took action by furthering the company from it’s creators, hiring CEO Kevin Mayer. Since this change, TikTok has worked to continuously update their software and increase user security efforts to promote a safe online community for all social media users.
From TikTok’s problematic year in 2020, much information can be learned for the future of technology leaders. First, user’s are now aware of what data is being tracked by these apps, allowing for better brand reputation and transparency. Second, future app creators and TikTok itself now know the real dangers of data security and privacy issues and the harm it can cause to society and America’s democracy. Lastly, future leaders now understand the importance of protecting others information to avoid possible banning or spread of misinformation.
