TikTok Collecting User Opinions on Firearms, DoJ Says
Author: Jack Collins | Publish Date: Aug 05, 2024
One of the world’s most popular social media apps is collecting user opinions on several topics, including firearms. According to a recent document released by the Department of Justice (DoJ), TikTok, the video sharing app with connections to the Chinese government, collects this data and uses it to manipulate its users.
TikTok is Collecting User Opinions on Firearms to Manipulate Them
According to the DoJ, TikTok, the world’s fifth-largest social media app, has been working with the Chinese government to sow social division among Americans. One of the ways the tech giant does this is by collecting user data on controversial topics like Firearms.
TikTok is also tracking opinions on other controversial subjects like abortion, the DoJ alleges.
After collecting user data, TikTok uses an internal service called Lark to share information with its parent company, ByteDance. By law, ByteDance must share this data with the Chinese government.
TikTok can also manipulate its algorithm to boost content and influence public opinion. By sowing divisions between US citizens, the DoJ alleges that TikTok can undermine the unity of the American public.
This isn’t the first time TikTok has used such a system to communicate with the Chinese government and coordinate with its goals. The company used a tool similar to Lark last year to track users who viewed LGBTQ content.
The Big Picture
It’s no surprise that TikTok is collecting information on its users. “If you’re not paying for it, you’re the product,” as the saying goes.
At the end of the day, though, this is just a smaller battle in the war for TikTok’s future. In September, oral arguments will begin in a lawsuit between the tech giant and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The case will decide whether TikTok will be banned in the US due to national security concerns. TikTok has argued that such an action would violate its First Amendment rights. The FCC has stated that since TikTok is not an American company, the First Amendment doesn’t apply to it.
The stage is certainly set for an interesting court case in September.