By Jun Velasco
There is an ongoing debate about privacy and the use of your private information by social media companies which willingly allow their apps free to use. Are what we post considered for general use, that apps can use these as information to push ads?
Most social media apps explain in this logic, apps are free to use, and in turn, the app can farm your information for advertising purposes. How did you think social media app companies make billions? In 2019, Facebook reported revenue was $70.7 billion, a 27% increase from the previous year. Its 3.5 trillion pesos in our terms. Remarkable!
It is a case of quid pro quo, or as they say, I scratch your back and you scratch mine, or it is the other way round? Regardless, I guess nothing is truly free.
Have you ever wondered how a social media platform can easily send you dog tips and dog products sponsored posts when you did not ask for it? Perhaps posting a photo of your pet Luna had something to do with it.
An intrusion in our privacy? People do not generally mind. We don't argue or make a case against it since we do use the app "for free" and enjoy it, even find it useful.
But is the intrusion in our privacy already a security risk?
In the case of TikTok, it's time as one of the most popular apps in the US is running out. There are claims that the app is a national security risk. True or not, the fear is greater than what is rational, that eventually an executive order banned making transactions with the company. Though in reality, the app is still alive and still being used and viewed by millions in the US.
Here, it gains its popularity with the millennials and Instagrammers looking for the next big thing or the big-ticket to online superstardom as an influencer. And a vast majority that watches TikTok content. It is, after all, another platform to spend time considering everyone is a captive audience with this pandemic.
Similarly, ByteDance the creator TikTok raked in $157 million in advertising revenue from January to March, as reported by CNN. From a business standpoint, TikTok can grow into another billion-dollar company by year-end if its users continue to increase, given its growing global popularity.
Now comes the question of security. Is an app like TikTok with the millions of user-information a national security risk? With that said, are all apps suspect to some form of security risk? Well, I will leave the experts to answer that question. For the millions of Filipino Netizens, my simple advice "be careful of wolves dressed as lambs."
TikTok's may just disappear replaced by a new and more interesting app. Or the government finds a credible reason to ban the app. In any case, as the app name implies, time is running out. Tick-tock, tick-tock.