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I have a lot of really complicated feelings about the TikTok thing. On the one hand, it'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
On the other hand, the data exfiltration and security/privacy issues aren't theoretical, and they aren'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/
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'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's spyware is the problem, not who'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't be the same calls for regulation. The difference in response is the issue, but the blatant xenophobia doesn't mean TikTok isn'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's a dedicated device with no other info on it.
