TikTok ban threatens: app may disappear from App Store

The US government agency FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has asked Apple to remove TikTok from the App Store. This is due to concerns about the data security of the app from China.

Hang TikTok ban?

FFC Commissioner Brendan Carr has sent a letter asking both Apple and Google to remove TikTok from the App Store over a “pattern of devious data practices.” Carr’s call comes a week after an investigation by Buzzfeedwhich shows that TikTok regularly sends American data to China.

TikTok is not just another video app.
That’s the sheep’s clothing.

It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.

I’ve called on @Apple † @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022

“TikTok is not what it seems at first glance,” Carr wrote to Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, the CEOs of Apple and Google. “It’s not just an app to share funny videos or memes. Those are the sheep’s clothing. At its core, TikTok functions as an advanced tool that collects large amounts of personal and sensitive data.”

Sensitive data

Carr emphasizes in his letter that TikTok sees more than just dance videos. “It collects search and browsing history, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages and metadata, and it stores the text, images, and videos stored in the clipboard.”

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByeDance† The app was almost banned in 2020 due to concerns from the US government that China is collecting information about Americans via TikTok. TikTok promised to store the data of users from the US in the US as well, thus averting a ban.

TikTok does not fulfill that promise, according to the research of Buzzfeed from. Leaked audio clips from internal TikTok meetings show that the company still has access to the information of American users. This has rekindled calls for a TikTok ban.

Is Apple removing TikTok from the App Store?

It is not inconceivable that Apple is removing TikTok from the Apple Store. The company takes privacy seriously and more often removes apps that incorrectly collect data from users. The tech giant has not yet responded to Carr’s letter. Undoubtedly to be continued.

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