Perhaps the biggest news to come in tech recently has been the fears around video sharing social media platform TikTok.
On July 1st a Reddit user had taken a deeper look into the way TikTok operates as an app and found that a lot of data that perhaps shouldn’t be tracked by a social media app was being recorded, and with the parent company of ByteDance being a Chinese registered company there had been further concerns that this data collected may be used in a way that’s against the users interest.
India had been the first country to ban the app on privacy and data protection concerns along with a list of eighty or so other apps, but the next big name on the list could be the US as it is poised to do the same.
There have been some questionable approaches to this as Microsoft were poised to buy the social media platform, but with concerns over tariffs being placed on the sale and Chinese state media concerning the sale as theft. The concern now however is less so around what may happen with TikTok although there are many very invested in the outcome, but more with the possibilities of what may happen with tech applications moving forward.
A report had followed suggesting that the majority of social media platforms were taking just as much, if not more data, and whilst didn’t fall under the same scrutiny as the parent companies were typically US registered, it may pose future questions around whether or not more regulation could be required to ensure that users are protected with both their data and privacy.
There have been recent changes in similar sectors too – namely in online gambling as changes to many apps and sites occurred over the past few months. One of the biggest had been a ban on credit card betting and gambling online, but there had also been adjustments to initiatives such as gamstop aimed at reducing player participation options, as many betting sites and casinos here at Max Casinos start to register elsewhere however and become more accessible – it’s likely that similar methods may be taken by other applications if the previously mentioned concerns continue to be an issue and steps are taken to ensure that mobile safety continues to be a priority.
It’s an interesting time for mobile applications however, there are bound to be big changes on the way following whatever actions are finalised with TikTok and may lead to a closer look being placed on existing and newly emerging platforms. If the platform is sold to a US based owner, many of the bans such as India will likely be reversed and pressure will be taken off of the app in the US and other countries such as the UK which had been following changes closely, but if the sale can’t go through then the opposite may be true as a quick reaction to banning the platform may be apparent.
