Employees of TikTok, the social media app facing some serious scrutiny in the US, reportedly had access to a list of users who viewed content in categories that included LGBTQ posts.
This caused an uproar when news of the list became public, with many users worried about how their private data was going to be used by the app, which has reportedly been closely watched by US government officials due to its Chinese owners.
The concern didn’t fall on deaf ears, or inert fingers, as TikTok, who recently underwent a testimony in front of Congress, disabled the list which had let its employees see details of users visiting certain types of posts where LGBTQ content featured prominently.
TikTok’s behavior with personal data are nothing new, as they reluctantly followed trends of other tech and social media companies, who have been met with similar suspicions as well as merit.
The use of generative AI chatbots has raised questions regarding what information employees can access, prompting companies to respond by introducing safeguards, such as a $725 million settlement from meta, a social media giant, for a Cambridge Analytica price-tag.
User confusion and worries has been legitimately snarling up attempts made by TikTok to sow a calmer garden amidst some already present thorns, and beyond that, the Biden Administration has gone as far as to call out the company to separate its US customer base from its Chinese roots, as per the Wall Street Journal.
The winds of change hit stormy skies when lawmakers in Montana even went as far as to ban the app for users in their state, all of which has served to portray an image of insecurity and potential detrimental mishandling of customer data.
TikTok is still standing tall in the US, with over 150 million users, and with it comes the responsibility of the company to take a stance, and add the necessary privacy guards to view its customers with the respect they deserve.
TikTok’s Chief Executive Officer, Shou Zi Chew, took the stand in front of Congress in March and afterwards was met with celebratory posts from the company’s users. Giving further proof that they are seeing a move in the right direction.
