TikTok

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TikTok is a social media platform developed by the Chinese internet technology company ByteDance Ltd. The app has been cited with numerous privacy concerns that eventually led to a US state ban in May 2023.

TikTok

Basic Information
Release Year	2016
Product Type	Social media
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://tiktok.com

Consumer impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

• User Freedom
• User Privacy
• Business Model
• Market Control

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User freedom

• The app version requires an account to use the service.

User privacy

As per Privacy Policy:

• Automatically collects unreasonable heaps of information to fingerprint the user:

Technical Information we collect about you. We collect certain information about the device you use to access the Platform, such as your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices. [...]

• "Keystroke patterns or rhythms" is particularly notable as the in-app browser has been demonstrated to listen to inputs from keyboard and screen, as well as injecting JS code.

• Also collects approximate location based on "SIM card and/or IP address" and precise location such as GPS.
• Serves personalized advertisements and runs its own AI-powered analytics tool for advertisers called "Insight Spotlight".

Incidents

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Incident	Year	Background Info	Aftermath	Related Article	Related Video
Violations of Children's Privacy Laws	2019-current	In 2019, the US Department of Justice sued TikTok and parent company ByteDance as well as it's associated companies for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The companies knowingly allowed children under 13 to make accounts and unlawfully collected data and personal information of said children without parental consent.	TikTok, as of 2020, still has complains about allegedly still collecting and using personal data of children under 13.	https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/ftc-investigation-leads-lawsuit-against-tiktok-bytedance-flagrantly-violating-childrens-privacy-law
Suppressing "ugly", poor, or disabled creators	2020-present	The Intercept published a report in 2020 stating that obtained internal documents from TikTok instructed moderators to limit the amount of videos with people who have "ugly facial looks". "abnormal body shape", or are in poor or dirty environments. The documents claim that these types of videos are "not the ideal video form of our platform"	A TikTok spokesperson stated that the guidelines were “an early blunt attempt at preventing bullying but are no longer in place"	The documents themselves

See also

• ByteDance