Tik Tok, Security and Diplomatic relations: What’s the Connection?

Recently, on June 29th, India banned TikTok alongside 58 other Chinese smartphone apps following some of the military issues the two countries are having. India, which has the largest use of internet following China, downloaded TikTok almost 611 million times. If this goes on, America is set to hold the victory baton in the U.S-China Tech War.

The reason of Indian Government imposing ban on the Chinese apps is the military issues the countries are facing but also India’s concerns over privacy and misuse of data, according to reports. Not only Indians but also some U.S Analysts, brought to light, how the Chinese Government could use the personal information of over 40 million Americans who downloaded the app.

It might look weird at first for the US Treasury’s Committee to investigate an app used by teens, however, it really can pose a threat to national security as it is not only an app but a social platform connecting a billion users, to a billion videos, to all their personal info and the company servers, as well as the financial information of the creators, generating a whole social graph. Though, viral teen videos might sound harmless, but having control over a country’s financial database is some serious business.

As bizarre as it may sound, TikTok poses a serious threat to the security of all nations using it. Other Chinese produced apps pose a little threat compared to TikTok as it is the first Chinese app which spread across the world and has approximately 800 million active users.