Tech powers at logger heads: US-China allege companies spying
Technology
Tech powers at logger heads: US-China allege companies spying
(Web Desk) – US lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide ban on TikTok because they believe China could be using the popular social media app to spy on US citizens.
But US lawmakers refuse to reveal how their government uses US technology companies to spy on everyone in the world.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, more than 150 million people in the US use TikTok and members of the US House of Representatives are considering banning it.
But at the same time, companies like Google, Meta and Apple are also being considered to further compel them to spy on non-US citizens living abroad. Sex agencies are allowed to spy on foreign nationals' phones, emails and other online sources without a warrant.
This law is subject to renewal and further changes may be made.
US citizens enjoy certain protections under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, but the US government maintains that such rights do not apply to foreign nationals living abroad, giving US intelligence agencies complete freedom to spy on them. Freedom is found.
Most of the companies that rule the internet like Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft belong to the US and due to Section 702, the privacy of billions of internet users living outside the US is not protected.
According to Asher Wolf, a technology expert who advocates for consumer privacy rights, "the American attitude is that the law is not for us, but for others."
He further said that the US protest against TikTok seems to be an attempt to maintain its control over social media rather than a sincere desire to protect citizens from spying.
US President Joe Biden's administration is working to renew Section 702 and Tik Tok ban authority and this section have been called the most important tool to protect American citizens.
The US is demanding that ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, sell the social media app.
In this regard, TikTok Chief Executive Show Zi Chew appeared before the US Congress Committee and answered questions regarding data privacy and security concerns of the members there.
In a statement, Speaker of Congress Kevin McCarthy said the legislation would be advanced to protect American citizens from the Chinese Communist Party's technology supporters.
US government devices have previously banned the use of TikTok and this has been seen in Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and many other countries.
But the privacy rights of non-US citizens are not being referred to while declaring TikTok as a threat.
The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that the US government collects data on more than a billion online communications every year since 2011.
American constitutional expert Jonathan Hafetz said that while accusing TikTok and China of collecting data, the US forgets that it is also collecting a lot of data.
China is saying that the forced sale of TikTok will be strongly opposed and such measures will affect the confidence of investors in the US.
Section 702 was introduced in 2008 and has been overwhelmingly renewed in 2012 and 2018, but this time support for the law has waned.
Meta, Apple and Google are lobbying for changes to Section 702.
Although the purpose of this section is to target contacts of foreigners, it also allows for spying on US citizens who are in contact with foreigners.
US officials claim the law is important to national security.
Some critics argue that TikTok's data collection practices are no different from other social media platforms and that efforts to ban it are an attempt to distract from larger issues.
