{"id":1837762,"date":"2023-02-07T08:05:35","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T13:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1837762"},"modified":"2023-02-07T08:06:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T13:06:26","slug":"delete-tiktok-app-to-protect-your-personal-data-says-uk-lawmaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/delete-tiktok-app-to-protect-your-personal-data-says-uk-lawmaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Delete TikTok App to Protect Your Personal Data, Says UK Lawmaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/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%2Fdelete-tiktok-app-to-protect-your-personal-data-says-uk-lawmaker%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=1837762&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-->\n<p>To protect their personal information, people should remove TikTok app from their phones \u201chostile\u201d A senior British Conservative lawmaker said threats<\/p>\n<p>TikTok&#8217;s links to the Chinese Communist Party have been a source of concern for many years. ByteDance, its parent company was established in China and critics raised concerns that data could be handed to the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<p>Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, told Sky\u2019s \u201cSophy Ridge On Sunday\u201d programme that the video-sharing platform is linked to the CCP\u2019s efforts to build a \u201ctech totalitarian state.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4976223\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/01\/10\/Alicia-Kearns-1200x720.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4976223\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Alicia-Kearns-600x360-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\"   style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4976223\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Alicia-Kearns-600x360-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Alicia Kearns is a Conservative MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She speaks during a discussion on the Procurement Bill at Parliament, Westminster, London on January 9, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times).<\/figure>\n<p>Asked if she is advising people to delete TikTok from their phones, Kearns replied: \u201cWithout question. I don\u2019t have it on my phone  it\u2019s fascinating how often you speak to people and they go, \u2018I\u2019m going home tonight to have a serious conversation with my children.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is not worth having that vulnerability on your phone and it is the ultimate data source for anyone with hostile efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact is, now this isn\u2019t just me saying \u2018I\u2019m worried, delete it,\u2019 we have evidence that TikTok has been used to track down sources for journalists. Everyone should be concerned about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018We Are Being Naive\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In a letter addressed to Kearns in December 2022, TikTok Government Relations Director Elizabeth Kanter confirmed some ByteDance staff in China may access UK users\u2019 personal data, adding the access is \u201climited\u201d and \u201csubject to strict security controls and authorisation approval protocols\u201d that are overseen by the company\u2019s U.S.-based security teams.<\/p>\n<p>Kanter claimed TikTok is \u201ca global company with a global leadership team\u201d that is separate from ByteDance\u2019s China-based subsidiary Douyin, whose employees do not have access to TikTok UK users\u2019 personal data.<\/p>\n<p>She stated that the company was not asked for TikTok UK data by the CCP and had not provided this data. \u201cwould not do so if asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Kearns rejected TikTok\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n<p>She told Sky News: \u201cWe are being naive. TikTok presented evidence to my committee, where they stated that there was no way for individuals in China to gain access to the data of Britons. But what we\u2019ve now seen is that people working in China for TikTok hacked into European data so it could track down the source of a journalist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause what TikTok does is it gives away the data that makes you most vulnerable: who are you friends with; what are your interests; what are the interests you have that you may not want publicly disclosed; who you are having private conversations with; the locations you go to. There\u2019s a reason why China has this app. There\u2019s a reason why they\u2019re buying up gay dating apps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Conservative MP also added: \u201cOur data is a key vulnerability and China is building a tech totalitarian state on the back of our data. So we have to get far more serious about protecting ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just hours after the United States downed a suspected terrorist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-chinese-spy-balloon\">Chinese spy balloon<\/a>, Kearns said: \u201cWhile balloons are an important diplomatic spike in opportunity to have this conversation, our bigger concerns are the data penetration, pathway dependency that China is creating on Chinese companies, the way in which they\u2019re intimidating those who sought refuge in the UK and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Internal CCP Committee<\/h2>\n<p>The UK\u2019s Security Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-tom-tugendhat\">Tom Tugendhat<\/a> The Chinese regime was declared to have dissolved on December 13. \u201cconsiderable sway over the algorithms,\u201d Warning the app can be used to spread false narratives.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/experts-warn-uk-not-to-trust-tiktoks-pledge-to-keep-user-data-from-ccp_4920591.html\">Megan Prangley<\/a>, a China expert at the Henry Jackson Society, told The Epoch Times that TikTok\u2019s claims were not credible because ByteDance \u201chas an internal CCP committee\u201d and it\u2019s \u201chighly likely\u201d An employee based in China can access the data to streamline it for the government.<\/p>\n<p>She also referenced China\u2019s National Intelligence Law, which requires all organisations and citizens to \u201csupport, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is just where you cannot trust the Chinese government,\u201d Prangley suggested that employees could be added. \u201ccoerced into sharing whatever particular piece of information will be desired at the given time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A TikTok spokesman said: \u201cTikTok is enjoyed by millions of people across the UK, and we want to be clear that they can trust us with their data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re taking steps like storing UK user data in our data centre operations in Ireland, starting this year; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have written to Ms. Kearns on a number of occasions to ensure she has all the facts and information available and we look forward to having constructive engagement with her on these important issues in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This report was co-authored by Lily Zhou and PA Media.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To protect their personal information, people should remove TikTok app from their phones \u201chostile\u201d A senior British Conservative lawmaker said threats TikTok&#8217;s links to the Chinese Communist Party have been a source of concern for many years. ByteDance, its parent company was established in China and critics raised concerns that data could be handed to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1837765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[9244,6441,7256,3914,10427,5508,6248],"class_list":["post-1837762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-app","tag-data","tag-delete","tag-lawmaker","tag-personal","tag-protect","tag-tiktok"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837762","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=1837762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1837765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1837762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1837762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1837762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}