Complacent Marketing
TikTok Row : Privacy Battle Or Dominance War ?
By Diana Obath
I have been following with a lot of interest the ban and ongoing proposed ban of TikTok in some parts of the world . In Indonesia , the row began in September 2023 with the government issuing a ban on selling goods on social media after TikTok shop exploded in the country . Indonesia still did not have strict laws on e-commerce at the time , and the government wanted to mitigate predatory pricing on social media threatening offline markets . Indonesia ' s stance was that social media and social commerce cannot be combined since social media greatly influences consumer purchases via social commerce . Additionally , the Indonesian government cited user data protection matters . It said the app contributed to diminishing small and medium enterprises .
Several business owners were also on the front line in support of the government ban on TikTok shop for fear that it would harm their businesses . The platform was proposed to be used only for social activity and advertising , not commercial transactions . TikTok and all other social media platforms were compelled to split payments from shopping or risk revoking their licenses . This was to prevent the use of personal data on the site uploaded for social media being used for business purposes . TikTok was betting on Indonesia to expand into other online shopping markets outside China , where the TikTok shop was piloted to a population of 278 million people .
The calls for the ban or increased regulation of TikTok shop are also heating up in the US after the app rolled out e-commerce in September last year . TikTok is currently the second most used online shopping app in the US for young consumers after
Instagram . It has over 170 million active users in the country . In a report published on their website , Oxford Economics stated that TikTok contributed $ 24.2 billion to US GDP in 2023 , generated $ 14.7 billion in small business owners ' revenue , and supported over 224,000 jobs .
Some countries have already banned the use of the Chinese app due to concerns about content regulation and data privacy . On June 29 , 2020 , the Indian government banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps following conflict between the two countries , and 200 million users were erased from the app overnight . Somalia banned TikTok in August 2023 , citing that the platform was being used by terrorists . In the same month , Senegal suspended TikTok ' until further notice ' due to concerns about the app flaunting content regulation requirements and disseminating hateful messages . European countries have also accused TikTok of not sufficiently protecting user data and potentially allowing Beijing to spy on and manipulate its users , something the group has always vigorously denied .
One incident reported in the New York Times , however , makes reference to a complaint from a British User who said that her live stream had been hacked by a man ' exposing himself inappropriately .' In response , TikTok employees shared the complaint on an internal messaging collaboration tool called Lark alongside the lady ' s personal data , including her photo , country of residence , IP address , device , and user IDs , which was shared with thousands of employees , including those in China .
The data leak alarmed some employees , and several security employees warned
ByteDance and TikTok executives about the privacy risks tied to the platform . The user materials on Lark raise privacy questions and show how interdependent China ' s ByteDance is with TikTok platforms elsewhere in the world . Following this incident , the US banned the use of TikTok for universities , government agencies , and the military . It requested an immediate move of its citizen ' s user data ' out of China ' and directed it to be hosted on Lark in Singapore . Driver ' s licenses , passports , and ID cards of citizens of Australia and Saudi Arabia were also found to be accessible on Lark towards the end of 2022 .
Increased calls for regulation
TikTok has consequently been facing scrutiny in other markets . Lately , Kenya has joined the rally for tighter regulation on the app . In a statement made on March 21 , 2024 , the government of Kenya said it was considering limiting the use of the Chinese social media platform for persons and organisations that hold critical government information . Kenya has demanded that TikTok show compliance with local privacy and user verification laws , saying the app has been used to spread propaganda , support fraudulent activity , and distribute sexual content .
The Kenyan debate continues from late last year when the country ruled out a ban on the app after stricter rules were applied . The issue of adult and unregulated content on social media platforms has been a topic of concern for quite some time . Recently , TikTok has come under fire for the increasing amount of inappropriate content on its platform . As a result , the government has demanded stricter regulations to ensure a safe
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