TikTok U.S. Prompts Users to Allow More Permissive Tracking, Advertising ⇥ wired.com

The TikTok deal announced in December is done. There is now a U.S.-specific version of the app running the same recommendations algorithm as the rest-of-the-world version but trained only on a bald eagle-approved data set. The U.S. app is owned by a bunch of friends of the family who bought it at a suspiciously low price. Oh, and users now have a more invasive privacy policy to contend with.

Reece Rogers, Wired:

Now that it’s under US-based ownership, TikTok potentially collects more detailed information about its users, including precise location data. A spokesperson for TikTok USDS declined to comment.

Whether this represents an actual change in the data collected or merely a difference in description is something it seems Rogers cannot answer. However, it is a good reminder that lawmakers’ opposition to TikTok’s data collection was never based on a principled stance on user privacy.

This may be U.S.-only for now, but I am deeply concerned about the precedent it sets for the rest of the world. There is nothing I can see that limits the scope of the new U.S. app to only U.S.-based users. In the near term, I bet a few other countries could be pressured into switching to TikTok U.S.; farther into the future, what this looks like is an acknowledgement that the U.S. will take what it needs with whatever justification it wishes.

Update: Lily Jamali, BBC News:

Precise location sharing hasn’t yet been enabled in the US, where it is expected to be optional and turned off by default so users will be asked to opt in with a pop-up message. TikTok has not said when the update is due to reach American users.

TikTok already collects similar data from users in the UK and Europe as part of a new “Nearby Feed” feature that lets users find events and businesses near them.

Via Jason Anthony Guy.