I have a lot of really complicated feelings about the TikTok thing. On the one hand, it& #39;s blatantly obvious that the current administration is targeting it out of xenophobia, racism, and the humiliation of being publicly pwned by 14 year olds. https://twitter.com/lawfareblog/status/1290016520081268736">https://twitter.com/lawfarebl...

On the other hand, the data exfiltration and security/privacy issues aren& #39;t theoretical, and they aren& #39;t scaremongering. Apple had to revise user permissions in iOS because TikTok was grabbing user clipboard data every 10 seconds and sending it. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/06/tiktok-and-53-other-ios-apps-still-snoop-your-sensitive-clipboard-data/">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2...

Clipboard data is incredibly sensitive; it can contain passwords, 2FA tokens, personal contact information, medical information, legal information, you name it. Having TikTok on your phone *is* a security issue, no matter where the data is going. The app is spyware.

A lot of the discussion about that security risk is motivated by xenophobia and racism: it& #39;s not MORE of an issue that the spyware is sending your data to a Chinese company than it would be if it were a US company. The fact it& #39;s spyware is the problem, not who& #39;s behind it.

The problem is not the calls for regulation, the problem is that if the spyware were made by a US company, there wouldn& #39;t be the same calls for regulation. The difference in response is the issue, but the blatant xenophobia doesn& #39;t mean TikTok isn& #39;t spyware.

The following statements are simultaneously true: the administration efforts to block or ban TikTok are politically motivated and stem from racism and xenophobia, AND TikTok should not be installed on any device you own unless it& #39;s a dedicated device with no other info on it.