Posted on 01/22/2023 4:04:26 AM PST by Libloather
WASHINGTON - Just like teens, members of Congress are setting up TikTok accounts - even as the popular app is increasingly barred from government devices and heads of federal intelligence agencies raise concerns about data collection and surveillance obtained by a Chinese-owned company.
At least 32 members of Congress - all Democrats and one independent - as of early January had TikTok accounts, according to a review by States Newsroom. While there are no laws in place banning lawmakers from using the app on their personal devices, cybersecurity experts have raised concerns over data collection for those members who deal with sensitive government topics.
Of those members of Congress, at least half either currently sit or have previously served on committees dealing with foreign affairs, the U.S. military, investigations and national security.
One enthusiastic TikTok user is U.S. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Booker has a huge TikTok following of more than 329,000 accounts and has racked up 2.8 million likes.
However, he does not have the application installed on any government devices and his team regularly consults with security experts to “update and implement the necessary precautions to ensure continued account and information security,” Maya Krishna-Rogers, a spokesperson for Booker, said in an email to States Newsroom.
She said Booker joined in early 2022, as a way to connect with constituents.
“Senator Booker has found TikTok to be a creative and engaging space, and thinks it is important to meet people where they are, bringing more messages of kindness, truth, and justice to Americans,” she said.
“He has always been an advocate for continued oversight and necessary regulation to ensure that social media platforms are prioritizing user privacy and safety.”
(Excerpt) Read more at iowacapitaldispatch.com ...
Deep State, why bother even trying to hide it?
Just do your dirty work out in the open.
We are ruled by idiots. Beyond Trump, I won’t be voting for any of these fools again.
The article’s weak opening “Just like teens,” shows a lack of insight about how TikTok now commands more traffic than Google, and is rapidly replacing youtube for older generations as it doesn’t have the annoying ads.
There are plenty of “Chinese” apps but people pick on TikTok because it started as a Teen app, however hiding from it will only cost the GOP votes, as again it’s the most popular app on Earth. We need our candidates to look relevant, not like out-of-touch losers.
Deep States nowhere hire the front office appearance types for brains.
As for voting, until we can restore free and fair elections, it doesn’t matter whom we vote for since Deep State will decide the winners for us.
I'm with you. The last two elections has taken any and all interest in politics out of my system.
If we lose interest, give up, then Deep State wins.
This is no longer just about politics.
It’s about our survival.
Yes a freakin’ app that has fart jokes and videos of people popping zits is a security concern, not the wide open border, not the Biden crime family and half of Congress taking bribes from China, not the FBI protecting these scumbags while going after a former President putting the country first over China, it’s an APP you see!
One other insight, TikTok has more conservatives on it than other platforms, and ironically is much more Christian-friendly. Some of the biggest anti-radical-Dem accounts are on Tiktok, so we should not dismiss it.
It is insane to allow this.
We should also limit the data which may be collected by our own government.
All are insanely dangerous. Trying to exempt the Chinese Communist party collection of data is bizzare.
It is a coordinated attack including all the above.
Adding on....
The best way to blackmail or compromise a person is to know exactly where they have been every moment of every day. Tik Tok does this exceptionally well.
EC
Yeah but what data are they collecting from Tik Tok? It’s a ridiculous bunch of videos made mostly by teens and people in their early 20s, videos of people cutting farts in public, people popping zits, rap videos, movie clips, people playing video games. Meanwhile we got Biden most likely giving classified info to the Chinese and Republicans can’t even say the word “impeach”
Yes there is a ton of pro-Trump videos on it. Don’t tell that to Democrats though as they’ll start accusing him of colluding with the Chinese.
All your personal data, including locational data of where you have been, minute by minute.
Great stuff for intelligence agencies, or for influencing your voting.
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