Is the sound of TikTok really a time bomb? Or is it here to stay?

Tiktok has been making the headlines for quite sometime now. With news of Microsoft in discussions to buy it the united states and Donald Trump being ‘open to it’s sale’.

Tiktok is one of the most (if not the most) downloaded app on the app store. Being only four years old, this app been downloaded more than trendy apps like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat among the youth! If you know more than three people under the age of 20 then the chances are that you won’t have been able to escape the rise of TikTok. But what is so significant about this app that is attracting so many users? Think of it as karaoke for the digital age, where young people express themselves through dancing, singng, comedy and lip-signing. In two incredible years since its constituent parts Musical.ly and Douyin merged in late 2018, TikTok has skyrocketed from the kooky upstart of social media to one of its giants. It now has 800 million users globally – way ahead of more established names like Twitter, Linked In and previous teen sensation Snapchat – and has created an enormous youth subculture, with 41% of its users being between 16 and 24.

Young people use it as an channel to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing. This app has launched the careers of so many ‘TikTok’ influencers like Charli D’amelio, Addison Rae, Bryce hall, Zach King etc.. who receive around $40,000 per TikTok post and some with an approximated net worth of almost $4 million. Nevertheless, this seemingly harmless application could be banned in several countries for its ‘ambiguous privacy policy’.

It is also a business which very obviously means, well, business. Unlike some predecessors which have since failed (we’re looking at you, Vine), TikTok has been ruthless and competitive in its expansion plans and has had its eye on monetisation from very early in its journey. It is already present in more than 141 countries and opening offices at a helter-skelter pace, with its newest just happening to be right here in Australia, run by Google Executive Lee Hunter. When you hire Google big wigs, you are not messing around.

That might be part of the reason some people are unsettled by TikTok’s rapid rise, the other being the company’s suspected ties to the Chinese Government. China is currently going through a period of increased trade and security tensions with many Governments, including our own, whose experts blamed the Chinese state for the devastating cyberattacks on several private and public sector organisations earlier this year. In this climate, any business with close ties to China is likely to attract suspicion (hello Huawei), though Bytedance, the Beijing based owner of TikTok, does seem closer than most.

But why is the federal government nevertheless investigating this application so intently? Is Tiktok a real threat?

Theories and fears have swirled around TikTok since its early days but risen to a flood in recent months claiming that TikTok could be co-opted by the Chinese state as a tool for surveying its users, which are certainly very giving with information, or even have been covertly and deliberately designed as a tool of the Chinese State since its inception. In June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to ban Chinese apps like TikTok, which are downloaded to mobile phones, over concerns they could be used to spy on citizens. Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, called TikTok’s new chief executive an “American puppet” during a Fox Business interview and said the Trump administration would take “strong action” against the company and other Chinese social media apps.

The platform could indeed be placed under restrictions and scrutiny in several countries for its ‘ambiguous privacy policy’ while many countries in tension with the Chinese, including the United States and Australia, are ‘looking at’ banning TikTok and perhaps other Chinese social media apps. The Government of India went furthest by officially barring TikTok along with 59 other apps including WeChat, at the end of June. They cited concerns pertaining to national security, sovereignty and integrity, as well as data security, privacy and public order. The Indian Government argued that ByteDance is ‘conceivably’ feeding users’ data to the Chinese Communist Party.

I suppose it’s just a matter of time until we find out if and what TikTok is really doing with our personal data?

TikTok nevertheless has already begun its fight back in the arena of public relations and through Washington lobbyist Michael Beckerman has hired 15 lobbyists and communications staff, including aides to Paul Ryan, the former Wisconsin speaker of the House, and Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the Democratic whip. A bi-partisan battle for respectability is likely to ensue, with the main argument being that the rumours about it and the actions taken against it are without basis, as Tik Tok now functions entirely independently from ByteDance. Led by an American CEO, it says its data centres are located externally from China and that the data is certainly not subject to the Chinese law in any respect.

A spokesperson for the company subsequently said “We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked." Yet many Governments are unconvinced and believe TikTok is a threat.

Theoretically, it would be possible for Chinese authorities to use types of biometric data from TikTok exploiting facial recognition and other means to identify and track people. TikTok could also draw in invaluable information for creating advanced ‘deep fake videos’ that target specific people. Although such ideas may appear outlandish, there have already been proactive TikTok prohibitions within cautious businesses in Australia and the USA to ensure sensitive data isn’t disclosed.

The years ahead should be extraordinary for TikTok, one where its incredible growth will continue at the same time as it deals with an incredible amount of rumour, Government bans and a constant climate of suspicion. No doubt its legal team is going to become even bigger than its lobbying team as it fights for its place in the marketplace. Other businesses may well partner with TikTok, wanting to take advantage of its dynamism and growth at this still early stage. They will need to have a lawyer on hand, however, ready to make sure they are not left culpable if the worst rumours about TikTok turn out to be even 20% true.