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ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok app download page is ready for a photo on a smartphone in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Monday, September 14, 2020.
Brent Lewin | Bloomberg | fake images
SINGAPORE – Policies surrounding the future of TikTok’s operations in the United States could undermine the need for better understanding and safeguards when it comes to protecting user data, a security expert said on Thursday.
Beijing-based ByteDance, owner of the popular short video sharing app, turned down Microsoft’s offer to buy TikTok’s US operations and instead chose Oracle to become TikTok’s US technology partner. Sources previously told CNBC that Oracle became ByteDance’s preferred partner due to the company’s close ties to the Trump administration and its willingness to agree to a deal in which it did not purchase 100% of the assets. .
The political leanings of various parties involved in the potential transaction “further pollutes” concerns about privacy and data security, said Marcus Fowler, director of strategic threats at cybersecurity firm Darktrace, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” . Fowler previously worked for the CIA developing cyber operations and global technical strategies.
“I am concerned that any political slant could taint the outcome of what we really want, which is a better understanding and better assurances regarding data and security,” said Fowler.
He explained that there must be a more concrete and transparent policy on how companies should handle user data, no matter where they are located or with which country they are aligned.
It is unclear whether the US government will approve a restructuring plan that would still keep TikTok’s business in the US, including data collected by the app about US users, under the control of ByteDance.
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he was not ready to approve a ByteDance proposal and said it must be “100% when it comes to national security.”
“Is it if this goes through, well, the rest (of) other countries, other organizations (will) be like, ‘Oh, this is all I need to do to get my company’s security practices above the bar, I just need to align from a political standpoint rather than a baseline this is what security looks like and security assurance and this is the level of security that I need to have to reach a level that is acceptable, ”said Fowler.
The United States has alleged that the Chinese government could access data collected by the app about American users and this could be used for disinformation campaigns. TikTok has denied those allegations, saying that US user data is stored in the country itself with a backup in Singapore.
The White House had set a September 20 deadline for ByteDance to come up with a plan to sell the video app’s operations in the United States or it would be banned before September 29. An agreement would have to be reached before November 12. But Beijing had delayed it. about a tentative sale of US assets, saying it would need to approve a deal that involves exporting the lucrative artificial intelligence technology used by TikTok.
Relations between the US and China have deteriorated considerably in recent years due to a trade war and a race to establish dominance in crucial areas of technology, including 5G and semiconductors. Washington has targeted Chinese tech companies like Huawei and increased pressure on companies like ByteDance and Tencent, making it difficult for them to operate in the US.
– CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to the report.
