>> FROM THE LOCAL STATION NEWSFOURJAX. ♪
NEWSFOURJAX. ♪ >> TONIGHT, INCREASING
CONCERNS ARE BEING RAISED OVER
THE NEW VIDEO SHARING SOCIAL
MEDIA APP. TIKTOK NOW AMONG
THE MOST DOWNLOADED.
>> AND USE THAT’S OF ITS KIND
IN THE U.S. THE NATIONAL
SECURITY OFFICIALS IN SEVERAL
STATE GOVERNORS ARE NOW
BANNING ARE MOVING TO BAN THE
USE OF IT ON GOVERNMENT
DEVICES OVER CONCERNS OF
CHINESE DATA GATHERING NEWS
FOR JAX REPORTER JOE MCLEAN IS
DIGGING INTO THIS. JOE, WHAT
ARE U.S. OFFICIALS MAIN
CONCERNS?
>> WELL, FIRST, IT’S A THAT
WHAT MENTIONED IS THE CONCERN
OVER THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION
THAT THESE APPS ARE ABLE TO
GET FROM USERS. AND IT’S NOT
JUST ACCOUNT INFORMATION, BUT
SEARCH USE HABITS AND ALL
SORTS OF DATA THAT WE DON’T
EVEN THINK ABOUT. WHEN WE USE
THE SOCIAL MEDIA APPS. WHAT
THE OTHER CONCERN IS AS HOW
THE CHINESE CHINA-BASED, A
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY CAN STEER
OR MANIPULATE ITS CONTENT. AND
BY DOING THAT, HOW THEY CAN
STEER THE OPINIONS AND
SENTIMENTS OF U.S. CITIZENS.
>> THE U.S. SENATE HAS
UNANIMOUSLY SIGNED OFF ON A
BILL THAT WOULD BAN THE
POPULAR VIDEO PLATFORM TIKTOK
FROM DEVICES ISSUED BY FEDERAL
AGENCIES. THAT MOVE CAME AS
SEVERAL REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS,
INCLUDING GEORGIA’S ISSUED
SIMILAR BANS FOR GOVERNMENT
DEVICES. A TOTAL OF 12 STATES
NOW HAVE SUCH A BAN IN PLACE.
MARC BERKMAN IS THE CEO OF THE
ORGANIZATION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
SAFETY. THE MAIN CONCERN HERE
WITH TIKTOK FROM A NATIONAL
SECURITY PERSPECTIVE IS WHAT
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT CAN DO
WITH THIS INFORMATION. IF THEY
GOT A HOLD OF IT, ALL THE DATA
ON OUR CITIZENS AND HOW THEY
COULD POTENTIALLY USE THE
PLATFORM TO INTERFERE IN
ELECTIONS THROUGH PROPAGANDA.
AS A REMINDER, IT’S NOT JUST
TECH TALK, BASICALLY ALL
SOCIAL MEDIA APPS COLLECT AND
TRACK DATA FROM THERE USERS
AND ALLOWS COMPANIES LIKE
META, SNAPCHAT AND YOUTUBE.
>> OPTIMIZE THEIR PLATFORMS
AND TRY TO MAKE THEM MORE
COMPETITIVE.
>> BUT HERE’S THE PROBLEM.
THOSE ARE ALL US BASED
COMPANIES THAT HAVE TO FOLLOW
U.S. LAWS AND REGULATIONS. THE
OWNER OF TIKTOK BYTE DANCE IS
BASED IN CHINA.
>> IT’S OBVIOUSLY THE CHINESE
GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE
TURNED. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
HAS DIFFERENT INCENTIVES THEN
FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES IN
DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES AROUND
THE WORLD. SO THERE THERE IS A
SECURITY AND DIFFERENCE IN
RISK LEVEL. THERE. A BILL
SPONSORED BY FLORIDA SENATOR
MARCO RUBIO WOULD BAN ALL
TRANSACTIONS WITH BYTE DANCE
AND ANY OTHER COMPANY FROM AN
ADVERSARIAL NATION. MOST
EXPERTS SAY WOULD BE A BIG
UPHILL BATTLE GIVEN THAT MORE
THAN 136 MILLION US USERS
LOGGED ONTO THE SITE EACH
MONTH. THAT’S THE BIGGEST
SHARE OF TIKTOK GLOBAL USER
BASE WELL OVER THE COUNTRY IN
SECOND PLACE, INDONESIA.
>> AND THIS IS A STATISTIC
THAT ACTUALLY SURPRISED ME
MORE THAN HALF OF TIKTOK
CREATORS ARE BETWEEN THE AGES
OF 18 24 THAT 53% OF THE APPS
CREATORS ARE IN THAT AGE RANGE
OF JUST 6 YEARS. REPORTING
LIVE. I’M JOE KLEIN, CHANNEL
4, THE LOCAL STATION. SO JOE,
WHAT DID BERKMAN AND OTHER
EXPERTS SAY AVERAGE USERS
SHOULD DO IF THEY HAVE TIKTOK
AND THEY’RE WONDERING WHETHER
OR NOT THEY SHOULD DELETE IT.
>> AND THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION.
HE SAID IF YOU’RE NOT READY TO
TO DITCH TIKTOK IT, IF YOU
REALLY LIKE THE PLATFORM AND
YOU WANT TO KEEP USING IT. HE
SAID THE MAIN THING IS REALLY
JUST BE UNDERSTAND HOW THE APP
USES UNDERSTAND ITS MONETARY
MODEL. UNDERSTAND WHAT
INFORMATION THAT THE APP IS
COLLECTING FROM ITS USERS AND
HOW IT STUDYING THEM AND THAT
WAY YOU CAN APPLY THE
APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF
SKEPTICISM NOT JUST WITH
TIKTOK WITH EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA
THAT YOU HALF.
>> BACK TO YOU. GOOD ADVICE.
JOE MCLEAN, REPORTING TO US
LIVE. THANKS, JOE.
>> WE ASKED OUR NEWS 4 JAX
INSIDERS THAT THEY THINK
TIKTOK SHOULD BE BANNED IN THE
U.S.. CAROL SAYS THE NEGATIVE
INFLUENCES ARE DETRIMENTAL TO
CHILDREN AND TEENS. PLUS THE
LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF DATA SENT
TO CHINA IS UNKNOWN. JUSTIN
SAYS BANNING AT WORK MAKES
SENSE BASED ON THE HABITUATION
THAT IT CAUSES. BUT ON COLLEGE
CAMPUSES MAY BE AN OVERREACH.
ISSUE IS ALGORITHM. YOU CAN
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