By Trudeau Gulati
TikTok has eclipsed almost every other entertainment and social media app, making it the most utilized app in Canada today. The appeal is short videos that can fit into our short attention spans but impact us all differently. However, many people do not realize that TikTok is a Chinese app "collecting massive amounts of data and attempting to influence information to varying extents" (Sayegh, 2022). The risk is that we, the users, are the commodity, and the data collection allows TikTok to track you without understanding, making the company able to track everything we do just by using their app.
At first, I would always say that I didn't care about this. I watch many videos and enjoy the time I spend on TikTok. It feels like my parents were just being worry warts about using the app. Sometimes the app can do incredible things, like point out taxi scams, where taxis were scamming users by scanning credit cards illegally, and users posted about their experiences and the police were involved quickly (Bulowski, 2022). Behind the good aspects of bringing positive attention to the issue is the exploitation of children and disturbing materials being promoted on TikTok.
Most male students have heard of Andrew Tate and his misogynistic and controversial videos, which allowed him to get 250 million video views and almost 6 million followers (Das, 2022). But unfortunately, it took a very long time to get TikTok to take social responsibility and force the company to "pursuing measures to strengthen it's enforcement and detection models" (Das, 2022).
It can be challenging for high-school students to understand the importance of privacy and protecting themselves, as we are just trying to survive and enjoy our lives. We must know what is happening and who is taking our information and selling us out simultaneously. We should not be placed into contracts by an app to further their business goals. We should have our privacy protected until we reach legal age and be able to further our viewing habits without the interference of forced compliance because we watch a video. What do you think?
Bulowski, N. (2022, October 25). Young woman's Tiktok goes viral, warning others of Toronto-area taxi scam. Canada's National Observer. Retrieved from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/10/25/news/young-woman-tiktok-goes-viral-warning-others-toronto-area-taxi-scam
Das, S. (2022, November 6). Tiktok' still hosting toxic posts' of banned influencer Andrew Tate. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/06/tiktok-still-hosting-toxic-posts-of-banned-influencer-andrew-tate
Sayegh, E. (2022, November 10). TikTok users are Bleeding Data. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2022/11/09/tiktok-users-are-bleeding-data/?sh=621781c96a2f