With all the helpful ways our phones can connect us to the world around us, it's easy to forget that they're also little beacons of personal data. As the capabilities of the internet grow and evolve, data collection and algorithm regulation questions are at a pivotal point. It can be strange to think about as you scroll through friends' Instagram feeds liking pictures of finely-plated food or watching your kids perform the latest TikTok dance craze.
Major tech companies routinely come under fire for the questionable use of data. Concerns about data are uniquely shared with bipartisan support, ranging from child safety to public health misinformation. In 2021, Meta Platforms (META) took a significant blow when a former employee turned whistleblower shed light on the company's methods to prioritize the pushing of potentially-harmful content.
Meanwhile, the social media platform TikTok has come into question by the U.S. government, which alleges that its parent company, the Chinese company ByteDance, could use data to spy on or influence users on behalf of the Chinese government. And the concerns aren't for naught. Congress banned the app on all government-issued devices back in December after ByteDance employees used TikTok to gather information on three journalists to determine a source leak.
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TikTok Invites Journalists to New Transparency Center
The U.S. government and TikTok have been locked in an awkward dance since Donald Trump attempted to ban the app during his time in office. Toward the end of 2022, the Biden administration began working on a deal with TikTok to enact a third-party data monitoring system. If successful, the U.S.-based cybersecurity monitoring company Oracle (ORCL) would report to the U.S. government.
This week, TikTok opened the door to its headquarters in Los Angeles to provide a look at what the social media company says it's doing to ensure the safety of user data. Journalists from Vox, NPR, and other outlets were guided through the facility, reportedly laying out the process by which "For You" videos are chosen, allowing guests to test the app's moderation methods, and outlining more features of the (currently stalled) deal with Oracle, nicknamed "Project Texas".
TikTok, Transparency and Your Data
At the end of the day, there seem to be two key takeaways from the rather unorthodox presentation made by ByteDance's big money-maker. The first -- the level of transparency measures illustrated by TikTok in response to data concerns is the greatest we've seen from a major tech company so far. The company revealed plans to bring on highly-certified third-party actors working with the U.S. government to audit TikTok's data and algorithms -- which is above and beyond what American tech behemoths like Alphabet (GOOG) or Meta have given.
These attempts at data transparency could lead to an agreement between the U.S. government and ByteDance. If the two sides continue the struggle to come to an agreement, it's difficult to imagine the American social media landscape without ByteDance's revolutionary platform. Well, maybe not so hard to imagine for Jim Cramer, who has his own advice regarding the issue.
