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

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

#141

Post by germandiago »

int0x20 wrote: post #77
germandiago wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which takes me at why we have to be rivals (we people in countries), because government are rivals and monopolize trading and resources for themselves? It is very stupid that we passively accept those rules and let them drag us like that into things of this nature. I am really (I am european) pissed off by the fact that someone decided we needed a war with Ukraine when we do not have anything for/against Russia or Uk…

Quoted post unavailable.

I am not for or against russians or ukranians. Think whatever but in a war you are going to see many disgusting things from both sides. It is like that.

I declare myself neutral and the last thing I wanted is my country to be involved in this stuff (and others).

Of course, at the same time I think that Russian invasion was stupid and a mistake. This is a power game and nothing else. I just want to live normal, not to get into unnecessary trouble. Diplomacy would have been better. And if diplomacy does not work, I do not know why Spain should be further involved. I can understand that countries close such as Latvia, Finland, Poland, etc. take a non-neutral position on this. But Spain? Seriously...

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

#142

Post by puszczyk »

pokepim wrote: post #126
moomoo11 wrote: post #42

Of course not. Every government is going to look out for themselves. Following your reasoning, look at China. They have their own playbook for operating within China, and it is quite restrictive. They make it harder for foreign entities to do business within China. From a geopolitical viewpoint this makes complete sense. You don't want your rival to have a backdoor into influencing/manipulating/discovering how people…

Quoted post unavailable.

Seriously, you equate banning TikTok to being a racist or an antisemite?

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

#143

Post by therealasdf »

jpk wrote: post #33

Lots of folks here arguing that the focus on TikTok is unfair, given the data collection practices of domestic corps like Facebook. From a privacy point of view, this argument is well-founded, but I think it's tangential to the argument TFA is making, which is: this data collection done by a foreign government and exploited for surveillance or espionage is a national security risk. I get it. We want corps to stop hoo…

Why do Americans think they represent the world? Your adversary is not our adversary.

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

#144

Post by [deleted] »

moomoo11 wrote: post #42

Of course not. Every government is going to look out for themselves. Following your reasoning, look at China. They have their own playbook for operating within China, and it is quite restrictive. They make it harder for foreign entities to do business within China. From a geopolitical viewpoint this makes complete sense. You don't want your rival to have a backdoor into influencing/manipulating/discovering how people…

[deleted]

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

#145

Post by dmw_ng »

simmerup wrote: post #113
moonchrome wrote: post #54

The thing people are missing when they say "naturally foreign government collecting data is a security risk" - is that by US openly admitting this - they are signaling to all other countries allowing US tech companies to operate there that they should be firewalling because it is a security risk. World is > US and China, Europe, SA, Africa, the rest of Asia - this is a clear cut message "you need to have your social…

I honestly think that should be done anyway. For example, if Britain blocked Facebook for not being consumer friendly what would we really lose? Facebook would be recreated over night. The profits would be kept in country. And in addition, we might have a slightly better barrier against the American culture seeping into the country. Sure, we could lose some app integrations but if the internet was more segregated API…

Ofcom are slowly getting their teeth back with upcoming regulation (3 decades late IMO), but in answer to "what would we really lose?", we'd likely suffer immediate tit-for-tat responses from the US if we attempted to meaningfully regulate or partition our media from theirs again.

I don't think anyone who has spent much time thinking about it sees the Russia/China/Iran firewalls as a bad thing, but we aren't them and we can't regulate our media in the same way.

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

#146

Post by germandiago »

XorNot wrote: post #86
germandiago wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which takes me at why we have to be rivals (we people in countries), because government are rivals and monopolize trading and resources for themselves? It is very stupid that we passively accept those rules and let them drag us like that into things of this nature. I am really (I am european) pissed off by the fact that someone decided we needed a war with Ukraine when we do not have anything for/against Russia or Uk…

> I really do not accept that, I want to have friends from wherever, go with whoever and do business with whom I deem appropriate without asking permission to anyone. Ask yourself what Ukranian citizens would answer to that question.

I am not talking about that. I agree with you about that. I have a good Ukranian friend also, even I visited his home some months back (in Spain). The topic is why everyone gets involved in things that are far and foreign to them.

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

#147

Post by david_allison »

XiS wrote: post #26

"TikTok is said to collect “everything”, from search and browsing histories; keystroke patterns; biometric identifiers—including faceprints" How can they even collect browsing history or biometric identifiers on Android? Isn't browser history stored in the browser's private storage space, or am I being naive here?

Very unlikely to be accurate. If it was, TikTok wouldn't be on the app stores.

* Browsing history: If a user uses a WebView in your app, you can obtain the history of* that WebView instance.

Xiaomi phones let applications have access to the first (100?) bytes of each pcap line. [note: this is probably unintended, but their bug bounty programme didn't care].

* Keystroke patterns: You can track user keystrokes within your app. If you're a keyboard or accessibility provider, you can access keystrokes globally. I haven't used TikTok, but it's very unlikely that they do either of these, the UX to enable them is not pleasant because they're dangerous actions to take.

* Biometric identifiers: If a user takes a selfie, you have their iris/fingerprint/faceprint

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

#148

Post by okamiueru »

My concern seems to be different than that of most expressed here. Companies collecting too much information is a problem, sure, but that's not what deeply worries me when it comes to social media generating/consuming platforms like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Especially those that algorithmically decide what to show users.

Foreign countries controlling what information a coming generation is exposed to is IMO much more concerning than collecting and profiling (of course also troubling, but a slightly different league). There is little oversight into what bubbles are formed, who is fed what, etc.

Want to create division in a foreign country? What better place to start than on social media and malleable kids.

This applies equally to TikTok as Facebook, for different reasons. I don't trust TikTok because of CCP, and Facebook because everything is for sale.

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

#149

Post by hnlmorg »

Cederfjard wrote: post #127
hnlmorg wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well in that case I hope you don't moan when the EU places heavy restrictions on the data harvesting that American companies do. I get the paranoia around China, I honestly do. I'm not at all unsupportive of the Chinese regime either. But this "one rule for us another for them" principle really needs to stop.

Why should it stop, as long as nations continue to pose threats to each other and their populations? I support both the US and the EU putting these restrictions in place (until such a time when everyone can be trusted, if ever).

Because it's a cyclic argument that only leads to hostilities. Of course I'm not advocating that if we stop collecting data everyone will suddenly play nice. But that doesn't mean it isn't extraordinarily hypocritical to moan about China and the EU placing restrictions on US companies (as is a frequent gripe on HN) while simultaneously placing restrictions on China and EU firms too.

We need to learn to find a saner middle ground if we're ever to advance as a species.

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

#150

Post by simmerup »

dmw_ng wrote: post #145
simmerup wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly think that should be done anyway. For example, if Britain blocked Facebook for not being consumer friendly what would we really lose? Facebook would be recreated over night. The profits would be kept in country. And in addition, we might have a slightly better barrier against the American culture seeping into the country. Sure, we could lose some app integrations but if the internet was more segregated API…

Ofcom are slowly getting their teeth back with upcoming regulation (3 decades late IMO), but in answer to "what would we really lose?", we'd likely suffer immediate tit-for-tat responses from the US if we attempted to meaningfully regulate or partition our media from theirs again. I don't think anyone who has spent much time thinking about it sees the Russia/China/Iran firewalls as a bad thing, but we aren't them and…

Right of course, completely forgot about the possibility of starting a trade war.
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