• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
People are being warned to delete TikTok or risk having your data exposed

Home> News

Published 08:42 7 Feb 2023 GMT

People are being warned to delete TikTok or risk having your data exposed

TikTok is hugely popular, but Alicia Kearns - the head of the UK foreign affairs committee - believes people are being 'naive'

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

People in the UK have been urged to delete TikTok from their phones because of potential security risks by the chair of Britain’s foreign affairs committee.

Conservative MP and foreign affairs committee head Alicia Kearns said that the popular video sharing platform represents a serious data risk and added that ‘we are being naive’ about the threat posed by it.

She claims that the social media platform leaves users’ data at risk to ‘hostile’ threats, making specific reference to the Chinese government.

The company that owns TikTok - ByteDance - is based in Beijing and has strenuously denied that any data would ever be handed over to the Chinese government.

Advert

On Sunday, Kearns told Sophy Ridge on Sky News: “It is not worth having that vulnerability on your phone.

“It is the ultimate data source for anyone with hostile efforts.”

Foreign affairs chief Alicia Kearns has warned against being 'naive' about TikTok.
REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

When pressed on whether she thinks people should delete the app from their smartphone and devices, she added: “Without question.”

TikTok has more than a billion worldwide users and is obviously hugely popular, but there are increased concerns about the data that it collects from the devices of those that use the platform.

Advert

It was recently revealed that ByteDance employees had used data gleaned from TikTok to track down several journalists in the West, attempting to discover their sources.

In an update to the app’s privacy policy it was also revealed that some overseas ByteDance staff could gain access to user data under certain specific circumstances.

Kearns continued: "Everyone should be concerned about that.”

A spokesperson for TikTok said: "TikTok is enjoyed by millions of people across the UK, and we want to be clear that they can trust us with their data.

"We're taking steps like storing UK user data in our data centre operations in Ireland, starting this year; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe.

Advert

"We have written to Ms Kearns on a number of occasions to ensure she has all the facts and information available and we look forward to having constructive engagement with her on these important issues in the near future."

TikTok has already been the subject of legal action in the US because of alleged privacy breaches, and there have been discussions about banning the app outright.

Kearns said that we should ‘get far more serious about protecting ourselves’ with regards to TikTok.

Some politicians are very worried about the privacy risks posed by TikTok.
NurPhoto SRL/Alamy Stock Photo

The TikTok algorithm is famous for bringing a seemingly endless stream of user-generated videos tailored specifically to what each user enjoys or watches, and has been part of the huge success of the app.

Advert

In terms of what it knows, TikTok knows the IP address of the user, as well as other apps on their devices and any log-in and sign-up information that has been inputted.

The app also regularly asks for permission to access phone contacts and locational data from users, though permission is required.

TikTok is already banned on the devices of politicians in Congress, and blocked in many schools and workplaces.

Next month, the US foreign affairs committee will vote on whether a cross-party plan to ban the app outright should be undertaken.

It isn’t known whether President Joe Biden would support such a ban, but it was certainly on the to-do list of his predecessor Donald Trump. Biden has ordered a governmental review into foreign-owned apps such as TikTok.

Advert

LADbible has contacted TikTok for an updated comment.

Featured Image Credit: Boumen Japet / Yau Ming Low / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: UK News, Politics, TikTok, Technology

Tom Wood
Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

X

@TPWagwim

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
11 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    CEO Andy Byron from viral Coldplay concert video resigns from role at company

    Andy Byron went viral for all the wrong reasons this week

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    People call for ‘genius’ car park feature to be used everywhere

    It's perfect for those who hate parking between two cars

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Woman loses £25,000 after posting video of her dogs to Instagram

    Meta reportedly suspended the business owners accounts after she posted a video of her dogs

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    How much money you would have made if you invested £1,000 in Apple 10 years ago

    If you invested in Apple 10 years ago, you wouldn't have regretted it

    News
  • MPs warn all citizens are at risk of 'grey zone' attacks after Russian mercenary group blow up London warehouse
  • DVLA warning over 10 health conditions you must report or risk your car insurance being void
  • 15 million people at risk of having DNA sold after company files for bankruptcy
  • How US TikTok ban could affect users in the UK as it's set to happen on Sunday