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More and more companies and organizations are banning TikTok in the workplace and on professional hardware, or are at least considering it. We look at the pros and
More and more companies and organizations are banning TikTok in the workplace and on professional hardware, or are at least considering it. We look at the pros and cons and why you should even consider it.
TikTok: For some it’s a harmless pastime, for others a spy app under the guise of fleeting entertainment. There are more and more companies, authorities and organizations that tend to seek second opinions and ban the Chinese app for employees outright. Is it really necessary or can it all be so harmless?
The TikTok app was launched by parent company ByteDance in 2017 as an international version of their hugely popular Douyin. In the same year, ByteDance also takes over the Chinese Musical.ly.
Less than twelve months later, both apps are merged into one new one, including all existing accounts and data. The name TikTok remains and the global conquest can only really begin. The bulk of the content initially consists of people mimicking and performing a dance, but has since expanded significantly.
Late last year, there was big news: several TikTok employees had used their access to the app’s data to monitor Forbes journalists. Using IP addresses and user data, TikTok employees tried to determine the physical location of the journalists in question.
The goal was to identify the internal source responsible for information that had led to a series of articles about TikTok’s (and ByteDance’s) relationship with the Chinese government.
It’s this alleged link with China, combined with reports like the one on Forbes, that continues to fuel suspicion of the popular app. After all, other social media also have a lot of our data, and these apps have equally good access to our devices’ microphones and cameras. But despite everything, they are still independent of the country in which they are based.
Officially, TikTok is too, but there are only a few Chinese companies that have no (direct) relationship with the Chinese government. The likelihood that ByteDance is just one of these exceptions is very small. specialists like Kenneth LasoonProfessor at the University of Antwerp, have already warned of the danger that TikTok can pose.
What possible dangers does the clip app pose? Why are there more and more companies and organizations that want to ban TikTok from all work devices? We list the biggest headaches for you.
The previously mentioned connection to the Chinese government does exist save flag number one for many specialists. With the data TikTok collects, spying is a breeze: the app registers your location, has access to your cameras and microphone, sees your preferences in many areas, and has insight into what you send out to the world.
The same goes for TikTok as for a good real estate agent: location, location, location. The app tracks users and can use them against you.
For example, to prove infidelity, but also to represent, in the truest sense of the word, your habits and preferences in real life. Another possibility is that in this way it is possible to create an overview of the fixed places and times when different people who are being monitored for the same reason come together.
With regard to the hardware, the suspicion is obvious and the fear itself is the most far-fetched, but not unrealistic either. Audio and video can theoretically be activated remotely, at important political or military deliberations, when closing business deals, or simply to gather blackmail material. In the latter case, incriminating facts can be used, for example, to recruit someone as a (double) spy.
Many people carry their entire day-to-day life in their phones and few ever turn it off, let alone put it aside, even when it seems logical or simply necessary. So this idea sounds a bit far-fetched, but not unrealistic. Of course, an active data stream of audio and video over the network leaves traces.
Of course it doesn’t have to be that extreme. TikTok has an algorithm that is known for understanding what a user wants to see very quickly. Manipulating this content is therefore not difficult. Does someone in a bad mood watch sad things? His food will soon be as depressing as an abandoned slum during a rainstorm.
If you mindlessly scroll through the same videos, you will not realize that you are being secretly manipulated. And sometimes that can go a long way: even your political preference can subconsciously provide a clue, depending on what you’re watching. This does not have to be limited to one topic, if you regularly switch between different categories, you feed TikTok with your preferences.
The information that you unwittingly pass on also extends to the duration of your visits. The system recognizes very quickly that you quickly switch to the next clip with certain motifs or people, but also when you linger longer.
Those who use social media often take an active part in the activities. TikTok is no different, and it brings us straight to the next piece of data the company can collect about users: biometrics. Once your face is on TikTok, you can use it to train the AI. at worst for a deepfake (something where your voice is also important). Filters that age someone, for example, look funny and innocent, but also reveal a lot of possible data and, in turn, can be manipulated.
Location data is not only collected via GPS, but also via images. It’s a piece of cake for an intelligence agency to analyze all your clips and create an overview of which existing backgrounds are visible most often. This is just another way to get involved in creating a user profile.
All this is particularly important for political and economic leaders or people in key positions (lawyers, police, customs), but there is also the specific case of journalists. A country that doesn’t like freedom of the press also extends it to those who want it. Everything that we have already mentioned can also be used in a targeted manner to put pressure on journalists and thus implement censorship.
Combine a person’s fixed locations with their preferences and it’s easy for an intelligence agency to set up a so-called chance meeting. So you can catch a mole somewhere, but you can also put someone in a stressful situation. Then we’ll soon be back to blackmail.
Basically, the possibilities of manipulation and misuse of data are unlimited. With all the data collected, it is easy for specialists to create detailed profiles of TikTok users and/or manipulate a feed. This is less important for the cliché target group of young people dancing, but it is important when someone runs a country or a large company.
There is another, at first sight less dangerous, argument. The bite-sized morsels that make up clips on TikTok can actually provide hours of mindless scrolling. This can not only have a negative effect on concentration, but also makes thinking superfluous in the long run.
In other words, TikTok isn’t the ideal app to keep your head sharp. In the long run, to use a tough (but not entirely unfair) word, it could even be numbing. Does that sound familiar to you? Earlier this year we published a series of tips to be more focused both personally and professionally.
Of course we weighed the pros and cons. So far it’s been pretty negative. So here it is: it can be entertaining. But just to be sure, check out the above again anyway.
We also realize that much of what is said and written about TikTok is based on some form of speculation, but speculation that is still speculation oriented towards specialists. If you have an important function, private or public, we would definitely advise against the app.
Feel free to extend this to any type of hardware connected to your business. You have no control over what your people do in their free time. However, we agree with the argument of more and more governments and organizations to ban this trade in the workshop and during working hours.
Those crazy feta dances and recipes really aren’t worth it.
Source: IT Daily
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
