The risks of social networks have always been there. It is the youngest who are exposed the most on these platforms and many experts indicate that this is an activity that is not free of dangers, especially for the youngest audience.
However, in the case of TikTok , there is another danger to pay attention to, according to the American government. Republicans and Democrats alike have long called on the Biden administration to swiftly impose restrictions on the Chinese app, which has been repeatedly accused of illegal data collection. For this reason, the development of stricter regulations is required regarding this and other apps of Chinese origin, and even the national ban on the application.
With this background, it should not surprise us that US Senator Michael Bennetm has contacted Apple and Google to force them to immediately remove TikTok from their app stores . This was stated by the politician in a letter addressed to the CEOs of both American companies, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, today.
TikTok’s vast influence and aggressive data collection pose a specific threat to the national security of the United States due to its parent company’s obligations under Chinese law. Given these serious and growing concerns, I urge you to remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately.
This is the first politician to directly contact the heads of the App Store and Play Store , requesting the removal of TikTok. Another different thing is, of course, that both Apple and Google pay attention to it.
Is Tiktok so dangerous?
Beyond the suspicions of espionage by the Chinese government , the app is really not much more dangerous than any other social network. What happens is that it is a platform that has managed to establish itself among a group of younger users, generally younger, which implies that the risks to which they are exposed are greater.
Some of these risks described by Internet security experts include:
- Privacy Concerns: TikTok collects a significant amount of personal information from users, including location, search history, and preferences. It is important to carefully read the privacy policy and adjust the privacy settings to minimize the amount of information shared and keep our private data safe.
- Inappropriate Content – TikTok is a platform with a wide variety of content, but some of it may be inappropriate or not suitable for younger people. That is why it is important to monitor the use of the application by the little ones and consider activating additional restrictions, such as setting the account in private mode or the use of content filters. In the same way, it will always be recommended to have some type of parental control activated on the phone.
- Addiction problems : TikTok is highly addictive and can be distracting and divert attention from other important activities, such as study or sports. If your children use TikTok, set time limits and teach them to use the app responsibly.
As you can see, these risks are not different from what you can find in other apps like Instagram or BeReal. Being aware of the dangers associated with its use is important to learn to use it in a fun way.