Pogo, TikTok and Data Brokers: We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us

For anyone seeking common ground in Washington the new divided Congress ensures the scarce real estate will continue shrinking in 2023 Thatamp8217s what makes Republicans and Democrats intent on curbing TikTok Chinaamp8217s wildly successful short video app noteworthy Just donamp8217t expect the kumbaya comity will matter much when it comes to the security risks posed by China A multibillion dollar American data brokering industry is ready to sell Beijing whatever it wantsThe concern over TikTokamp8217s trove of data on Americans isnamp8217t hard to explain Tensions with Beijing have put China atop Washingtonamp8217s roster of national security threats No slouches at reading public opinion politicians also sense they have a winner in highlighting the app as negative views of social media grow Add TikTokamp8217s doubletalk on Capitol Hill about its Chinese ties Itamp8217s fair to say the company has strung itself up as a political piamp241ata and handed its critics the batThe Chinese companyamp8217s extraordinary penetration of the social media market would be an attentiongetter even if Washington and Beijing were making nice TikTok had some 18 billion users and 46 billion in revenue worldwide last year These days itamp8217s drawing 140 million active American users Some 60 percent are in the 10 to 30yearold range in 20212022 TikTok was by far the most downloaded app making it Gen Zamp8217s favorite bar noneThat said ad men spending billions to flog their clientsamp8217 goods on TikTok isnamp8217t whatamp8217s bothering the Biden administration or Congress The worry is the massive quantity of personal data TikTok vacuums up as the amp8216tweens and 20somethings watch click and swipe Chinese authorities can repurpose the information to serve multiple goals for instance for intelligence targeting a propaganda effort or a tailored political action campaign More to the point when the Chinese regime has a mind to do just that Beijingamp8217s wish is literally TikTokamp8217s commandThe suggestion that TikTok can insulate itself from the dictates of Chinaamp8217s security services belongs in the same category as the idea that Elvis is returning soon The legal obligations of TikTok and its Chinese employees to the Peopleamp8217s Republic are spelled out in black letter law Chinaamp8217s Cybersecurity and National Security Laws establish that Chinese companies and citizens amp8220shall support assist and cooperate with state intelligence workamp8221 The statutes also make plain they must keep secret whatever they doThe rules arenamp8217t up for debate or appeal Start with the power of the security services to enforce the law in an authoritarian regime Then add the role of Chinaamp8217s Communist Party and President Xi Jinpingamp8217s guidance from on high Ten years ago Xi began to use security laws and regulators to tighten his grip on the technology sector Among other things Xi also defenestrated several tech sector moguls they left their CEO roles for the Chinese equivalent of amp8220spending more time with the familyamp8221 to underscore his and the partyamp8217s writPresumably because of the controversy in Washington at ByteDance TikTokamp8217s parent the Communist Party is shortening the leash Like all Chinese companies ByteDance must have a Communist Party cell Its chief keeps an eye on the business as well as participates in management decisionsamp160amp160According to the New York Times Magazine the Chinese government recently took an equity stake and board seat in another ByteDance subsidiary as well Headquartered outside China or not TikTokamp8217s bosses doubtless got the message more oversight is on the wayIn any case TikTokamp8217s response to rising concerns about its US operations hasnamp8217t been impressive For example after news reports in June that employees in China regularly accessed US information this month a company spokesperson tapdanced denying TikTok ever shared US data with the Chinese government or Communist Party The evasion is obvious as is the real question TikTokamp8217s flack tried to dodge What happens when the state security ministryamp8217s agents come calling Chinese laws in hand to demand TikTok turn over whatever they wantFinding a fix to TikTokamp8217s threat that works wonamp8217t be easy According to the Wall Street Journal after two years of negotiations with TikTok the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States CFIUS is divided Treasury Department officials believe walling off American usersamp8217 data in the United States can do the job Other officials from Defense and Justice reportedly think only TikTokamp8217s forced sale will protect their likes swipes and locations from Chinaamp8217s reach Meanwhile in Washington as well as a dozen state capitals senators governors and assorted officials are speaking out pushing or adopting bans on the app and decreeing nouse policies on government devicesThe problem however amounts to what isnamp8217t being said TikTok is the tip of the iceberg Despite the crowd decrying the Chinese company few if any in Congress are saying a cross word about data brokers The Federal Trade Commission defines data brokers as amp8220companies that collect consumersamp8217 personal information and resell or share it with otheramp8221 Itamp8217s a major unregulated and rapidly growing industry The US dominates the 240 billion global data brokering market By 2031 forecasts suggest the market will grow to 460 billion worldwideMost Americans know little about data brokers much less the finegrained details on their lives including detailed personal profiles they collect compile collate and sell The technology and financial services giants such as Google Facebook Oracle and Experian play a major part So do advertisers and trade associations that collect and sell information as well as data miners and web crawlers that scrape public records on arrests divorces and home sales The industry is complex itamp8217s also opaque and the companies big and small want it that wayTake their lobbying As political attention to the technology sector and its use of personal data has grown Big Tech has dramatically increased its spending in Washington Data brokers have generously added to the pot Some are outdoing the corporate giants According to The Markup 25 companies in the business spent 29 million in 2020 alone A halfdozen bills that have sought to require consumer consent for sale of personal data establish a national data broker registry and set data security standards all have failed Itamp8217s no surpriseThe implications for national security are obvious Identifying groups and individuals for example by race gender income levels address political sympathies and social media preferences are the data brokering industryamp8217s meat and potatoes With vast stores of information on Americans and no obligation to perform due diligence on their clients data brokers peddle their wares without restrictions here and abroadIf youamp8217re an intelligence officer in Beijing who wants to target a US government employee or push disinformation to just the right audience online who needs TikTok A front company and a checkbook will work just fineamp8220Surveillance is the business model of the Internetamp8221 Bruce Schneier a technologist and lecturer at Harvardamp8217s Kennedy School told a Boston audience ten years ago amp8220We build systems that spy on people in exchange for services Corporations call it marketingamp8221Or as Walt Kellyamp8217s Pogo put amp8220we have met the enemy and he is usamp8221Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Pogo, TikTok and Data Brokers: We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us

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Kent M. Harrington

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