What exactly about the tiktok app makes it Chinese spyware? Has it been proven it can do something?
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I’m a former government contractor.
All apps can do things without your knowledge. Some of these things include figuring out your exact location, including which room in a home you are in. Discovering who is next to you in that room. Track where you are going or coming from.
Apps can turn on your microphone and listen to what is being said. They can turn on your camera and see what you’re wearing (or not) and see who is near you. They can capture information about other apps you’re using, too. Including who you know and what kinds of things you’ve sent.
In america, companies can gather all of this information and more. HOWEVER, they are subject to the US court system and, depending on a ruling, can be forced to stop. In China, there is absolutely no recourse. Tiktok allows China to place millions of surveillance devices in America, managed by millions of unwitting users. Even if you have the most secure phone on earth, a phone that’s in the same room as yours can detect you, turn on its mic and camera, and surveil you, without your knowing it. And you can’t do anything about it. You can’t go to the police. You can’t complain to government. You can’t take anyone to court.
It makes sense to remove that threat, even if there is no evidence it’s being used maliciously. Just like I can put a video camera in your bathroom, and there is no evidence it’s being used maliciously, you can just eyeball it and say, “yeah, this should probably go.”
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