{"id":1300311,"date":"2022-02-15T11:24:52","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T16:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1300311"},"modified":"2022-02-15T16:37:40","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T21:37:40","slug":"tiktok-can-sidestep-apple-and-google-privacy-protections-giving-china-based-parent-company-full-access-to-user-data-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktok-can-sidestep-apple-and-google-privacy-protections-giving-china-based-parent-company-full-access-to-user-data-report\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok Can Sidestep Apple And Google Privacy Protections, Giving China-Based Parent Company Full Access To User Data: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftiktok-can-sidestep-apple-and-google-privacy-protections-giving-china-based-parent-company-full-access-to-user-data-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1300311&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1237942961-e1644959469519-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>According to an exclusive report from TheWrap, the Chinese-based app TikTok is side-stepping Apple and Google privacy protections to provide the company\u2019s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, full access to user data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>The studies, conducted by \u2018white hat\u2019 cybersecurity experts that hack for the public good, were completed in November 2020 and January 2021,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/tiktok-circumvent-privacy-protections-user-data\/\"><span>TheWrap<\/span><\/a><span> reported, noting that the outlet had \u201cverified the studies and confirmed their conclusions with five independent experts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>The summaries of the studies, shared exclusively with TheWrap, suggest that TikTok is able to avoid code audits on the Apple and Google app stores,\u201d the report continued. \u201cMore alarmingly, the research found that TikTok is capable of changing the app\u2019s behavior as it pleases without users\u2019 knowledge and utilizes device tracking that essentially gives the company and third parties an all-access pass to user data.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThis is highly unusual and exceeds the abilities of U.S.-based apps such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms,\u201d TheWrap added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThese dynamic properties allow TikTok carte blanche access to your device within the scope of what the application can see,\u201d said Frank Lockerman, cyber threat engineer at cybersecurity firm Conquest Cyber who reviewed the two \u201cwhite hat\u201d studies. \u201cThe TikTok browser not only has access to convert from web to device, but it also has the ability to query things on the device itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt seems to me that ByteDance has gone to monumental lengths \u2014 possibly more than Facebook, Twitter and other social networks \u2014 to conceal the inner workings of their app,\u201d said one mobile development expert.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe security and privacy of our global community is always a top priority,\u201d TikTok said in a statement provided to TheWrap. \u201cStaying ahead of next-generation cyberthreats requires continuously strengthening the security of our platform, which is why we continually work to validate our security standards and collaborate with industry-leading experts to test our defenses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A spokesperson for the company also told TheWrap that TikTok \u201c<\/span><span>adheres to app store policies,\u201d and that \u201cits product meets information security standards in the <\/span><span>U.S., the U.K., Ireland, India and Singapore<\/span><span> and recently received certification by the <\/span><span>ioXt Alliance<\/span><span> for meeting standards and commitments to cybersecurity and transparency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These two studies examined TikTok\u2019s source code in 2020 and 2021, and looked into how the app collects data related to \u201ccontacts, device ID and clipboard actions and conceals data being sent to and from TikTok\u2019s servers.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The studies uncovered a concerning lack of anonymized data. For example, TikTok reportedly uses device IDs for ad integration, \u201c<\/span><span>which means advertisers can end up tracking people over time across devices and installs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOnce one advertiser has a device ID that\u2019s correlated, all privacy is gone,\u201d one report said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAs with any social media, if you are not paying, then <\/span><i><span>you<\/span><\/i><span> are likely the product,\u201d Jeff Engle, president of Conquest Cyber, told TheWrap. \u201cThe data you give, which almost always is more than users realize, can be hijacked, but that is an individual risk analysis on a user-by-user basis. The collection, control of distribution and manipulation of any social media makes it a powerful weapon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Earlier this month, it was also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/chinese-owned-tiktok-shares-data-with-more-third-parties-than-any-other-social-media-platform\"><span>reported<\/span><\/a><span> that TikTok \u201c<\/span><span>sends data to more third parties than any of its competitors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn a new study, <\/span><span>URL Genius<\/span><span> leverages Apple\u2019s new privacy features to track where various applications send user data,\u201d The Daily Wire reported earlier this month. \u201cThey determined that TikTok, on average, makes contact with 13 third-party domains \u2014 far higher than Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat. Although both YouTube and TikTok use an average of 14 trackers overall, 10 of YouTube\u2019s trackers are first-party contacts \u2014 meaning that it primarily deals with user data for its own purposes, such as determining relevant advertisements.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ighaworth\"><i><span> @ighaworth<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire\u2019s first original film, Shut In, has made its cinematic debut, being met with rave reviews. The Daily Wire is building an alternative to the leftist entertainment industry, one gripping movie at a time. Join us in this mission and stream Shut In today by becoming a Daily Wire<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"> <i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to an exclusive report from TheWrap, the Chinese-based app TikTok is side-stepping Apple and Google privacy protections to provide the company\u2019s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, full access to user &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1300311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1300311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1300311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1300311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1300311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}