Analysis Shows Various 'Challenges' Have Negative Impact
Privacy Leaks Fuel US Calls for TikTok Ban
China's video-sharing platform 'TikTok' is facing a crisis. Criticism continues over its harmful effects on teenagers due to various challenges, and in South Korea, it has been disciplined for personal information leaks. Amid the US-China conflict, the US Congress is also voicing calls to ban TikTok.
'Fainting Challenge' followed by 'TikTok Begging'
Concerns have continuously been raised that the Chinese Communist Party could collect personal information of TikTok users in the United States. [Photo by Yonhap News]
TikTok is a short-form video platform developed in 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance. It allows users to create and share short videos of about 15 seconds, gaining tremendous popularity among teenagers who are sensitive to trends and skilled at handling videos, even coining the new term 'TikTokker.' It is reported to have 3 billion users and ranked first worldwide in application downloads as of 2022.
Controversies surrounding TikTok have been ongoing. Various 'challenges' such as 'dance challenges' and 'mission challenges' have become popular mainly among teenagers, drawing criticism for their harmful effects. In particular, the 'fainting challenge' that went viral last year resulted in the deaths of 20 children over 18 months, strengthening calls for TikTok's ban. The 'fainting challenge' is one of TikTok's challenges where participants hold their breath until they faint.
Recently in Indonesia, a trend called 'TikTok beggars' has emerged, where beggars who used to beg on the streets have moved to TikTok. They deliberately engage in acts that evoke viewers' sympathy, such as immersing themselves in mud. Through 'TikTok begging,' beggars no longer need to go out on the streets and record acts that elicit pity. When streamed live, viewers send virtual gifts, which the beggars exchange for cash.
In response, Indonesian authorities have announced plans to strengthen crackdowns by requesting platforms to delete such videos. However, experts believe this trend will continue for the time being, as many viewers support beggars through TikTok, and with 99.1 million TikTok users, Indonesia ranks second in the world after the US.
Concerns over 'Personal Information' Leakage... "Ban TikTok"
Another issue with TikTok is the 'collection of personal information.' Currently, there are 100 million TikTok users in the US, meaning one in three Americans uses TikTok. However, alongside checks on TikTok, there has been growing public opinion in the US to ban it due to concerns over personal information and confidential data leaks.
The US has imposed sanctions on TikTok. Christopher Wray, Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), testified before the US House of Representatives in November last year, stating, "ByteDance may provide user data to the Chinese government and potentially use it," and added, "Since the software (SW) on devices with TikTok installed can also be controlled, special management is necessary." In response, President Joe Biden signed a bill banning federal government employees from using TikTok on government agency devices.
The US Congress is also pressuring Apple and Google to remove TikTok. According to The New York Times (NYT), Democratic Senator Michael Bennet sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, urging them to remove TikTok from their app stores. Republican Representative Mike Gallagher and Senator Marco Rubio have also expressed intentions to introduce legislation banning TikTok's operations in the US.
In South Korea, TikTok's popularity continues to rise daily, but issues regarding illegal collection of personal information have also surfaced. In 2020, TikTok was disciplined by the Korea Communications Commission for collecting personal information without prior notice. At that time, the Commission confirmed violations such as failing to obtain legal guardian consent when collecting personal information from children under 14 and failing to notify domestic users about overseas transfer of personal information. TikTok was fined 180 million KRW and penalized 6 million KRW for violating the Information and Communications Network Act. Consequently, TikTok was mentioned among applications that netizens considered should be deleted due to information leakage concerns in South Korea.
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