Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1268420
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JULY 2020 NEWS MASSIMO COSTA AN IT legal expert and privacy advocate has voiced concerns over the potential privacy intru- sions of the popular video-shar- ing social network TikTok, ask- ing whether using the app was worth the risks it potentially involved. Dr Antonio Ghio told Malta- Today that TikTok, like other social networking apps, pre- sented a number of privacy con- cerns which their users might not be aware of. Ranking websites show Tik- Tok is currently one of the top- five most downloaded apps by iOS and Android users in Malta. The app, which allows users to make short videos of them- selves, often featuring back- ground music or editing filters, started becoming popular local- ly in the summer of 2019. But the Chinese-owned app, has come under fire by those who fear it is being used by Chi- na as a surveillance tool. The US is considering banning the app altogether, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying ear- lier this week that a TikTok ban was "something we're looking at". Two months ago, Reddit user 'bangorlol' claimed to have suc- cessfully reverse-engineered the app and shared what he learned about the Chinese video-shar- ing social networking service, warning about its intrusive user tracking and other issues. TikTok was last month banned by India, which cited privacy concerns and said the app was a threat to its sovereignty and security. Ghio said that, like with oth- er social networking services, including Facebook, there were privacy issues tied to the use of such apps. "Unfortunately, TikTok's main audience – young people in what is typically called 'Gener- ation Z' – often fall short of giv- ing the needed importance to such privacy issues," Ghio said. The privacy worries on Tik- Tok are further compounded by international political realities, he said, since the app is Chi- nese-owned. "The same was the case with FaceApp, the photo-transform- ing app owned by a Russian company. People had started questioning whether Russia might have been using that app to start illegally collecting per- sonal data about its users in- cluding facial recognition data." "The bottom line, in my view, is should we use TikTok and similar apps when potential- ly we haven't at least taken the time to read carefully their pri- vacy policy?" he said. Asked whether the potential dangers of TikTok would be a threat to its Maltese users, Ghio said that it wasn't likely that China was specifically spying on the data of users in Malta, as some theories in other countries such as the US suggest. "There have been various complaints and controversies that TikTok was trying to influence pub- lic opinion. This has happened with Facebook in the past, the controversy surrounding Cam- bridge Analytica and the 2016 US elections being a prime ex- ample." "Will TikTok utilise Maltese users to try and change potential public opinion when it comes to the ties between Malta and Chi- na – for instance in relation to the Electrogas contract? Proba- bly not – I don't think we're un- der China's radar in this regard – but the potential is there." He underlined that, before making use of TikTok, people should ask if they really need to do so. "There's currently a craze for TikTok, with its Chinese mother company, Byte Dance being currently valued at over €100 billion and TikTok having over 800 million monthly us- ers. But the first question one should ask is: do I really need this app?" He underscored that people should keep in mind that the app could potentially have ac- cess to a lot of personal data about the users including loca- tion data, and details about oth- er apps and files stored on the device. "There have been a number of documented reports that the app could potentially even gen- erate a folder where it stores us- ers' photos and videos without them knowing, especially those that have nothing to do with the app usage itself – something which is very dangerous," he said. Ghio also referred to the wid- er protection framework intro- duced in Europe through the General Data Protection Reg- ulation. "The GDPR is a solid piece of legislation, and, irre- spective of whether TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, the regulation still applies in the EU since some of its data sub- jects, including Maltese citizens reside within its borders," he said. "Therefore, the legal remedies and protection of privacy do exist for users in the EU if the service the app offers targets the Union's citizens." "However, a law is only part of the solution – it's not a com- plete shield. It is not sufficient to allow you to sleep well at night, knowing your facial, app or location data is safe, irrespec- tive of the fact that legal stat- utes, predominantly the GDPR, disbar such illegal processing." At the end of the day, Ghio said, people should ask wheth- er having fun with the app was worth putting their privacy at risk. "Younger people might come to a different conclusion when asked this question – they might not be concerned about their privacy as much, and this is a tragedy in itself," he remarked. Lawyer Antonio Ghio warns that Chinese video-sharing social network TikTok, popular amongst Maltese youngsters, presents privacy concerns users are unaware of TikTok takes Malta by storm but fans might be aware of privacy fears Privacy worries on TikTok are compounded by international political realities since the app is Chinese-owned. "The same was the case with FaceApp, the photo-transforming app owned by a Russian company. People had started questioning whether Russia might have been using that app to start illegally collecting personal data about its users including facial recognition data," IT law expert Antonio Ghio says "There have been a number of documented reports that the app could potentially even generates a folder where it stores users' photos and videos without them knowing"