What is TikTok and What Happened?
TikTok is the world’s most popular social media platform, with its 750 million monthly active users worldwide. Launched in 2016, the video sharing app was designed to provide users with a creative outlet where they could share, discover and interact with other users through short-form videos.
However, despite its popularity, TikTok has recently lost the trust of many European countries after allegations of data sharing with China and reports of security breaches. This article will explore how and why TikTok has lost the trust of Europe, including the role played by European governments, data security concerns and privacy issues.
The Rise of TikTok and its Popularity in Europe
TikTok was developed by Chinese tech firm ByteDance Ltd in 2016, and quickly rose to become the world’s most popular social media app. It was particularly popular in Europe, which, by 2019, made up the largest proportion of the app’s users at 34% compared to 26% in the US and 14% in India.
TikTok developed a loyal user base in Europe due to its wide range of entertaining and innovative features. For example, users can customize their videos with special effects and filters, as well as interact with other users through reacting to, or ‘duetting’ with, other videos. Of course, these features made TikTok an easy hit with younger generations, and this was reflected in the app’s demographics; 59% of TikTok’s European users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
Data Sharing Allegations Spur Growing Concern
When US President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban TikTok in early 2020, citing ‘national security concerns’, European nations began to take note. This was especially due to the fact that Trump accused the app of “ surreptitiously [transfering] vast swathes of data” to the Chinese government.
This prompted European countries to investigate the platform’s data sharing practices, to the point where some, such as the UK and the Netherlands, opened official inquiries into the app. In July 2020, the French government announced a proposed ban on TikTok for primary and secondary schools over fears that the app’s parent firm was gathering data on adolescents.
Data Security Issues Highlighted
One of the main issues highlighted by the US government and European governments alike is data security. Specifically, there are worries that the app is not properly securing user data, leaving it vulnerable to misuse by hackers or manipulation by the Chinese government.
This concern has been fueled by the fact that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Ltd., is based in China and is therefore answerable to the Chinese authorities. Many countries have expressed their disapproval of this fact, claiming that it could give the Chinese government easy access to its citizens’ data, as well as data from people outside of China.
In response to these data security issues, an ‘international collaboration of academics’ in October 2020 ran an independent audit of the TikTok app. The audit concluded that the app had “critical security flaws that [threatened] user security and privacy”, and highlighted that the app was not compliant with standards mandated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Privacy Policy Issues
Another major point of contention for Europe lies in the app’s privacy policy. TikTok’s privacy policy states that it will collect user data, such as IP addresses, location data, and personal data such as name and age, as well as data collected through its partner companies.
To make matters worse, the app reserves the right to use the data it collects for its own commercial purposes, such as targeted advertising. This has raised concern in Europe, where the GDPR provides users with a right to privacy and the right to know how their data will be used. Furthermore, there is a fear that the data could be shared with China’s authorities.
Lack of Clarity Regarding User Rights
Finally, there is the issue of TikTok’s user rights, which has further damaged the trust of European countries. Specifically, its terms and conditions state that any content uploaded by users will be owned by the company, which means that its users have no legal rights over the content. This has been a point of contention for some European countries, as it goes against the spirit of copyright and the laws of many countries.
The damage to users’ trust from these lack of clarity over user rights has been compounded by the fact that the app’s terms and conditions are written in long and complex language, which has been criticized for obfuscating user rights.
TikTok was once the most popular social media app, but it has recently lost the trust of many European countries. This loss of trust has been driven by allegations of data sharing with China, data security issues, privacy issues and lack of clarity regarding users’ rights.
This is a major blow to the app, which has tried to distance itself from its Chinese roots to appeal to a more international audience. Europe’s trust in TikTok will likely be hard to earn back, and it will have to work hard to improve its platform and policies in order to regain the trust of European users.
