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TikTok Hires UK Security Firm to Audit European Data Protection

TikTok Hires UK Security Firm to Audit European Data Protection

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In a bold move aimed at strengthening its commitment to data security and privacy, TikTok has enlisted the services of British cybersecurity firm NCC to conduct a thorough audit of its data controls and protection measures. 

TikTok Hires UK Security Firm to Audit European Data Protection
Image Source: scmp.com

This partnership signifies TikTok’s dedication to ensuring the safety of user data and aims to provide independent verification of their security practices. The initiative, known as “Project Clover,” is a significant step towards addressing concerns surrounding data privacy, especially in the European market.

TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has faced mounting scrutiny from various government bodies, leading to bans on the use of TikTok on staff phones in several organizations. The primary concern revolves around the possibility of China’s government accessing and exploiting user data for its own interests. To combat these concerns head-on, TikTok has initiated Project Clover, designed to fortify its data security framework.

One of the key aspects of Project Clover is the establishment of data centers in Europe. TikTok plans to open three data centers, with two located in Ireland and one in Norway. The first Irish data center is already operational, with data migration processes already underway. According to Elaine Fox, head of privacy in Europe, TikTok aims to have all three data centers fully operational by the end of 2024.

What sets TikTok apart in its approach to data protection is its proactive stance. Rather than waiting for the European data centers to become fully functional, TikTok has already begun storing personal data of its European Economic Area (EEA) and UK users in a secure area called the “European enclave.” This interim solution, hosted in the United States, ensures that user data remains safeguarded during the transition period.

Elaine Fox emphasized TikTok’s commitment to transparency and cooperation with European policymakers. In the coming months, TikTok and NCC intend to engage with policymakers across Europe to provide insights into how Project Clover will operate in practice. This open dialogue is crucial in addressing concerns and building trust with regulatory authorities and users alike.

Project Clover was initially unveiled by TikTok in March, and it couldn’t have come at a more critical time. Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have been exerting increasing pressure on tech companies to enhance data security and privacy measures. TikTok’s partnership with NCC and its investment in European data centers demonstrate a proactive approach to addressing these concerns.

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In conclusion, TikTok’s decision to hire NCC to audit its data protection measures and its commitment to European data centers under Project Clover underline its dedication to securing user data. By taking these steps, TikTok aims to build trust and confidence among its users and regulatory bodies, setting a positive example for the tech industry as a whole in the pursuit of data privacy and security.

How will the European Union's Digital Services Act impact Google, Facebook, TikTok, and other major tech companies

How will the European Union’s Digital Services Act impact Google, Facebook, TikTok, and other major tech companies

Leave a Comment / Facebook, Google, News, Social media, Tech News, TikTok / By

According to the AP, a significant effort is being made to purge online information, which Google, TikTok, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as other large internet businesses that operate throughout Europe are dealing with. This Friday, August 25, marks the start of the first part of the new digital rules for the European Union, referred to as the Digital Services Act (DSA).

How will the European Union's Digital Services Act impact Google, Facebook, TikTok, and other major tech companies
Image Source: techxplore.com

By enforcing stringent standards, the DSA hopes to shield people from dangerous information and hold platforms accountable. Organisations are now expected to swiftly and impartially delete items or information that has been reported as illegal. For instance, TikTok has added a new reporting feature for users, and Amazon has established a new route for reporting things that are allegedly unlawful.

DSA forbids using advertisements to specifically target sensitive groups like kids. Snapchat announced that businesses in the European Union and the UK would no longer be allowed to access its teen-focused personalisation and optimisation tools. A firm that violates the DSA may be subject to sanctions of up to six per cent of its annual worldwide earnings and perhaps expulsion from the European Union. Platforms are obliged to examine any systemic dangers by the end of August and submit the necessary assessments, which will subsequently be externally inspected to confirm compliance.

The legislative reforms in Europe might affect the entire world. To handle problematic users and material worldwide, Wikipedia is changing its terms of service and regulations. Sally Broughton Micova, a lecturer at the University of East Anglia, asserts that it will be difficult for digital companies to restrict modifications relating to DSA.

The reason for this is the extensive worldwide reach of social media influencers as well as digital advertising networks.

Since they interact with multichannel systems that operate internationally, the new restrictions will probably have an impact. The Digital Security Act (DSA) is anticipated to have an impact on information technology firms and consumers all across the world as platforms build mitigation measures.

Also Read: Google’s eSIM transfer tool for Android smartphones revealed

Platforms have started implementing unique systems so that European users may report bad items and illegal internet material. Businesses will be required to swiftly and fairly remove reported information. The availability of reporting mechanisms for unlawful or policy-violating content is set to improve on well-known sites.

In a blog post, Meta’s President for Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, stated, “The DSA will wield a significant influence on the digital experiences of Europeans as they access their phones or engage with their laptops.”

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Fake News

The EU Asks Facebook, Google, and Twitter to Do More to Combat Fake News

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The coronavirus pandemic has been a rather unfortunate event that has shaken the world vigorously. However, one of the gravest aftermaths of it has been the large-scale sharing of fake news. Around the world, governments are doing all they can to hold tech giants more accountable for their actions. As a result of combined efforts, tech giants, such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter had agreed to accept a self-regulatory code in a bid to combat fake news two years ago. However, the European Commission has now urged these companies to do more to prevent the spread of disinformation. Here’s a look at what the EU is asking of these companies, and how they have reacted in the past.

Proactive Approach

The COVID-19 situation has made governments more active with regards to stopping the spread of misinformation. As a result, social media is now being asked to take a more proactive approach when it comes to combating fake news. The tech giants mentioned above, along with companies like Mozilla and advertising bodies have been asked to do more. All these companies had signed a more lenient deal in 2018 that aimed to prevent more heavy-handed regulations against hate speech. Later on, TikTok and Microsoft also joined these companies in promising to stop the spread of fake news. 

Shortcomings in the Code

However, following an assessment last year, experts concluded that the Code contained several shortcomings. As per a study done by Reuters, the Code allowed for its incomplete and inconsistent application. Furthermore, the report stated that there was a lack of uniform definitions, which allowed for different platforms to interpret the laws differently. Also, there were a lot of gaps in the commitments stated in the Code. The Code also featured limitations that were intrinsic to the very nature of the self-regulatory Code. Vera Jourova, who serves as the Vice President of the European Commission, therefore, called for greater transparency.

Google Facebook Twitter
Image Source: digitalinformationworld.com

Flexibility in the Digital Rule Book

Jourova also stated that the world is now witnessing new threats, making new measures extremely essential. Furthermore, Jourova said that these social media platforms need to be held accountable and that they should become more transparent. They also need to provide better access to their data to make the internet a safer place. As a result, the Commission is working on an Action Plan which will help the E.U. become more resilient towards digital threats. The E.U. Commission will soon propose a Digital Services Act by the end of 2020 to increase the responsibilities and liabilities of such platforms.

Requirement for Better Laws

The new Act aims to bring more rules that will restrict the freedom of platforms, products, and services. As a result, the move has set ablaze a fear within the tech industry as they will now face more heavy-handed opposition from governments. A joint statement regarding the inefficiencies of the older plan and the need for a new one came out on Tuesday. The announcement was made by Vera Jourova, who is the EU Commissioner, Security Chief Julian King, and Mariya Gabriel, who serves as the Digital Commissioner. The statement also noted that the old laws allowed for the large-scale spread of propaganda and disinformation which needs to be stopped. As a result, the EU Commission said that the tech giants need to work together and cooperate with governmental and independent bodies.

Trouble Brewing

In recent years, both Facebook and Twitter, with the former in particular have come under scrutiny in the US and Europe. One of the main talking points in such debates has been the Russian influence on the 2016 American election and the Brexit vote that occurred in the UK. The fears of such an influence led to the EU, asking for a better framework to moderate and regulate the spread of information by such platforms. The EU also stepped in requesting American tech companies to provide monthly reports with data on how they are fighting fake news regarding COVID-19 in June. With the US Presidential Election set to take place next year, the pressure is mounting to build such a framework as soon as possible. The rise in the number of manipulated videos and audios by using Deep-Fake technology has also become a popular talking point. Facebook’s refusal to fact-check posts have also drawn fire from lawmakers in the US, and employees within the company. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the companies handle this new law, and whether it will be successful in changing the way social

tiktok

Kevin Mayer TikTok CEO resigns as Trump administration plans to ban.

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Media has been flooding with the news regarding Chinese apps and its role in privacy breaches since the outburst of the novel coronavirus. Once the pandemic took a toll on all our lives, from vivid facts to conspiracy theories have come up regarding China being responsible for this havoc. Though the other nations suspect COVID-19 as a biological weapon, there is no strong evidence supporting it. But, seeing China as a threat to the world especially the U.S., Trump administration decided to ban the Chinese apps mainly TikTok and WeChat.

The Big news 

The relationship between China and the U.S has gotten stale with Trump announcing the ban on Chinese apps. To expand the Clean Network, Trump gave a deadline until mid-September to sell the assets of TikTok to any other company. With Trump accusing such Chinese apps of information theft, political battles have increased since the last month. Amongst this grave tension, Kevin Mayer, the new CEO of TikTok decided to step down yesterday. In the meantime, Vanessa Papas, the current general manager of TikTok will take his position as the interim head.

Why Kevin Mayer stepped down?

It has been only 100 days since Kevin Mayer, former Disney executive joined the most famous small video making Chinese app, TikTok owned by ByteDance. Kevin Mayer made a big decision resigning from Disney to become the CEO of TikTok, but unfortunately, everything went haywire. After Trump gave an order earlier this month to ban the Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat, the disturbance created between Beijing and Washington.

Before the ban of TikTok in the U.S., India banned all the Chinese apps mainly because of the dispute regarding the LAC. With all these political tensions not stopping anytime sooner, Kevin’s scope in TikTok might not go as expected. So, his decision to step down from the company is completely understandable, said a TikTok’s spokesperson to TechCrunch. Moreover, only a few days back TikTok sued the U.S. government for false accusations against the company.

Kevin Mayer
Image Source: indianexpress.com

The fight that both the TikTok and the U.S. government have picked up will have harsh consequences in the future for both sides. Kevin Mayer didn’t expect political tension of this intensity to fall upon his reign and hence he decided to step down. Moreover, the timeline of becoming the newest CEO of the company and the political rivalry has clashed coincidentally. But, Kevin has all the right to get far away from this growing tension and seek a better career opportunity.

Why did Trump order a ban on Chinese apps?

On 6th August 2020, Trump signed an executive order thus banning TikTok and WeChat within a timeline of 45 days. Trump accused these Chinese apps of stealing data that might harm the privacy of the U.S. citizens and compromise the national security of the nation. He also supported India’s act of banning 59 Chinese apps and decided it is time the U.S. takes some strict action against this information theft. It banned all U.S. citizens to conduct any transaction through these platforms or any brand from the U.S. to advertise their products.

This was a big blow for TikTok as the U.S. served as one of the biggest markets for the platform. In 2020, TikTok gained revenue of $200 million for the U.S. alone. Getting banned from the U.S. brought a huge loss for the company. Moreover, with China being thrashed everywhere in social media for the COVID-19 pandemic, the company should keep fingers crossed until any other nation takes a bold step.

Bargaining over the U.S. assets of TikTok

After Trump administration imposed banned on the U.S. operations of TikTok, many companies have come forward for buying them. Microsoft being the first company to take interest in buying the U.S. operations of TikTok, Trump was interested to sell it. Meanwhile, Twitter showed interest in buying the company’s U.S. assets but this decision was questioned. The market capitalization of Twitter is almost equal to the TikTok’s value of U.S. operation while Microsoft’s valuation is in trillions. So, it becomes crystal clear who might win the bidding. Apart from Microsoft and Twitter, Oracle is the third bidder. But, till now Microsoft is winning the race.

TikTok

Twitter shows interest in buying TikTok’s US operations by outbidding Microsoft

Leave a Comment / COVID-19, Microsoft, News, Story, TikTok / By

ByteDance, a Chinese company is the owner of the very famous video sharing platform, TikTok. With the advent of the global pandemic which emerged out from the Chinese city Wuhan, many nations have turned against China. Whether it’s a serious innocent breakout of an infectious disease or a plotted biological weapon is still in question. But, with almost every country around the globe suffering tremendously, many unpredictable decisions have been taking place.

Last week, Trump announced the ban of TikTok along with other Chinese apps from the U.S. Apart from all the other Chinese applications; TikTok has a very wide user base not only in the U.S. but also around the world. Trump has expressed the need of the hour to ban these Chinese apps as they might be responsible for serious data theft that can put the nation’s security in jeopardy. So, with a 45-days timeline to ban the usage of any Chinese apps by the U.S. citizens, Microsoft showed interest in buying the U.S. operations of TikTok. But, it is only yesterday that Twitter showed interest in buying the same by outdoing Microsoft in bidding.

TikTok by Pixabay

Can Twitter manage to Finance?

Yesterday, the news of Twitter being interested to buy ByteDance owned TikTok was delivered to Reuters from a trusted source. But, it is a big question if Twitter has the capital to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok. The market capitalization of Twitter is around $30 billion which is nearly equal to the assets of TikTok put on sale. On the other hand, Microsoft’s market capitalization is around $1.3 trillion which makes the scenario clear about the bidding.

So, if Twitter is having a serious plan to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok, it needs to raise additional capital. In a normal situation, it would have been easy to raise money, but with the pandemic creating havoc in the financial world and a time strain of 45-days it is a very difficult task.

Due to these two important factors, Microsoft is still on the run and occupy the first place for the bidding. Erik Gordon, a professor from the University of Michigan said that Twitter doesn’t have enough borrowing capacity making it even harder to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok. Moreover, the current shareholders of Twitter might think that expanding business in this crisis might be a big risk and it will be better if the company (Twitter) focuses on its existing business.

Protecting the Nation

A couple of months back India decided to take strict action against China because of two main reasons, first the outbreak of COVID-19 from Wuhan which might be a strong conspiracy against the world, and second, the dispute regarding LAC. So, Indian banned all the Chinese apps hence taking a big step and protecting the nation’s security from compromising. Now, a similar action was taken by the American president, Donald Trump, thus banning Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat.

Trump has also mentioned that this is one step forward towards protecting sensitive information and privacy of U.S. citizens from China. These apps are gaining access to information of every user and it can be used against the U.S. for many purposes. He also told that the ban of Chinese apps will also improve Clean Network thus adding five more lines of effort, namely, Clean Carrier, Clean Cable, Clean Apps, Clean Store, and Clean Cloud. And, lastly, he gave a deadline of 45 days and in mid-September, the ban will be imposed completely.

TikTok’s current reputation 

With the novel coronavirus pandemic, the reputation of China as well as its apps is degrading. But, TikTok is used by billions of users around the world, and especially in the U.S., it has millions of fans. Many citizens of the U.S. have expressed outrage towards Donald Trump after he declared the ban of TikTok. But, no matter what a nation’s security should always be the priority. Moreover, it will also become a golden opportunity for the country’s app developers to create something similar and make it a big hit.

The relationship between Twitter and Donald Trump has become sour as the president accused the platform of unfairly censoring him. So, apart from the capital of Microsoft being incredibly bigger than Twitter’s, it is likely Trump will support the acquisition by Microsoft.