Talking Tech - TikTok Is Finally American. But Is It Actually Better for Its US Users?

 By Jurgita Lapienytė, Editor-in-Chief at Cybernews 

TikTok is finally a US-owned company. Initially, the executive order pushing for TikTok's ownership change in the US was meant to protect users. However, short video platforms will now potentially collect even more user data than they did before.

The app will collect your exact location, AI interactions such as prompts or uploaded files, and information provided by third parties, essentially to serve you better-tailored ads.

The first executive order regarding the divestment of TikTok was signed by President Donald J. Trump back in 2020, with the reasoning that TikTok automatically captures “vast swaths” of information from its users that the Chinese Communist Party could eventually access and use against the US and its citizens.

It took nearly six years for the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, in which a group of investors including Oracle holds stakes, to be established. And while the hypothetical danger that the Chinese government might have used collected data for espionage has been largely mitigated, a new reality presents itself. 

The data collected by TikTok, while theoretically safe from China’s ruling party, will now be extensively exploited to provide personalized experiences to users – all in favor of maximizing TikTok's profits.

How many times have you bought something via an ad on social media? For many who aren’t opting out, ads are becoming more personalized and more targeted. Advertisers are able to serve you better ads because of this tracking. Knowing where you reside, how old you are, and what things you’re looking for online, they can serve you an offer you can’t refuse.

But tailored ads are nothing compared to the danger the excessive data collection policy by this now US-owned entity might pose to vulnerable groups in society, such as LGBTQ+ community and immigrants.

The data that TikTok collects includes information that the current US government could easily use against people: racial origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, mental health diagnoses, and immigration status, among others.

Given the charged political climate and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations resulting in casualties and detainees, such information might become yet another weapon against unarmed protesters.

So, while TikTok changing hands might be a good thing for national security, the app still poses significant privacy and security issues for its 180+ million users in the US.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Jurgita Lapienytė is the Editor-in-Chief at Cybernews, where she leads a team of journalists and security experts dedicated to uncovering cyber threats through research, testing, and data-driven reporting. With a career spanning over 15 years, she has reported on major global events, including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2015 Paris terror attacks, and has driven transparency through investigative journalism. A passionate advocate for cybersecurity awareness and women in tech, Jurgita has interviewed leading cybersecurity figures and amplifies underrepresented voices in the industry. Recognized as the Cybersecurity Journalist of the Year and featured in Top Cyber News Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in Cybersecurity, she is a thought leader shaping the conversation around cybersecurity. Jurgita has been quoted internationally – by Metro UK,  The Epoch Times, Extra Bladet, Computer Bild, and more. Her team reports on proprietary research highlighted in such outlets as the BBC, Forbes, TechRadar, Daily Mail, Fox News, Yahoo, and much more.

ABOUT CYBERNEWS

Cybernews is a globally recognized independent media outlet where journalists and security experts debunk cyber by research, testing, and data. Founded in 2019 in response to rising concerns about online security, the site covers breaking news, conducts original investigations, and offers unique perspectives on the evolving digital security landscape. Through white-hat investigative techniques, Cybernews research team identifies and safely discloses cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, while the editorial team provides cybersecurity-related news, analysis, and opinions by industry insiders with complete independence. 

Cybernews has earned worldwide attention for its high-impact research and discoveries, which have uncovered some of the internet’s most significant security exposures and data leaks. Notable ones include:

• Cybernews researchers discovered multiple open datasets comprising 16 billion login credentials from infostealer malware, social media, developer portals, and corporate networks – highlighting the unprecedented risks of account takeovers, phishing, and business email compromise.

• Cybernews researchers analyzed 156,080 randomly selected iOS apps – around 8% of the apps present on the App Store – and uncovered a massive oversight: 71% of them expose sensitive data.

• Recently, Bob Dyachenko, a cybersecurity researcher and owner of SecurityDiscovery.com, and the Cybernews security research team discovered an unprotected Elasticsearch index, which contained a wide range of sensitive personal details related to the entire population of Georgia. 

• The team analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone’s web traffic, and found that Google's latest flagship smartphone frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed.

• The team revealed that a massive data leak at MC2 Data, a background check firm, affects one-third of the US population.

• The Cybernews security research team discovered that 50 most popular Android apps require 11 dangerous permissions on average.

• They revealed that two online PDF makers leaked tens of thousands of user documents, including passports, driving licenses, certificates, and other personal information uploaded by users.

• An analysis by Cybernews research discovered over a million publicly exposed secrets from over 58 thousand websites’ exposed environment (.env) files.

• The team revealed that Australia’s football governing body, Football Australia, has leaked secret keys potentially opening access to 127 buckets of data, including ticket buyers’ personal data and players’ contracts and documents.

• The Cybernews research team, in collaboration with cybersecurity researcher Bob Dyachenko, discovered a massive data leak containing information from numerous past breaches, comprising 12 terabytes of data and spanning over 26 billion records.

• The team analyzed NASA’s website, and discovered an open redirect vulnerability plaguing NASA’s Astrobiology website.

• The team investigated 30,000 Android Apps, and discovered that over half of them are leaking secrets that could have huge repercussions for both app developers and their customers.