TikTok’s Huge Data Harvesting Prompts U.S. Security Concerns
- Wells Fargo, Democratic National Committee discourages app use
- Facebook, Google collect info too but don’t have ties to China
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TikTok has become one of the world’s most popular apps by serving up a steady beat of lip-syncing videos and viral memes. But behind the scenes the company, owned by one of China’s biggest tech firms, is also scooping up massive amounts of data on Americans and tracking users’ every move.
Security researchers say TikTok’s information-collection practices are consistent with Facebook Inc., Google and other U.S. tech companies looking to tailor ads and services to their users. The bigger issue lies in what TikTok does with the intel it gathers. Some groups, like the Democratic and Republican national committees and Wells Fargo & Co., have discouraged or banned people from using the app.