TikTok, new privacy storm: now it records our voice and our face

Change the privacy rules di TikTok. With the acceptance of the new policy, the application will be able to keep gathering some important ones biometric data, through the voice and face recording of users. And, among TikTok users, many are teenagers and preteens. The information is just some of the information included in the list available in the documentation, including the geolocation via SIM card, IP address and GPS.

Reached from the information website TechCrunch, TikTok did not disclose which features under development that may need these elements but, he pointed out, that users will be notified when the actual collection is introduced. Voice and face, however, are not the only registered peculiarities; as can be seen from the policy, too objects e surrounding environments, location and bodily connotations may end in of the company, like what already happens with other social networks including Instagram, for example for the creation of captions for those with visual disabilities. To reassure, at least in part, users should be the confirmation that what is recorded will not be used for operations that will allow theidentification, but solely for content moderation, demographic classification, recommendations and the like.

TikTok, what do the laws say?

La privacy policy, currently in effect for those who download the app from stores connected to the United States, and not in Europe where the regulation on the protection of personal data (GDPR) is more stringent, it remains obscure on certain aspects. In fact, although it specifies that all the details will be registered according to the regulations in force in the nation and the members notified where required by law, there are not many states that can boast an effective system of this type.

The revelation comes, in any case, after an agreement from 92 million dollars following a class action undertaken in May 2020, caused by the violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act of the state of Illinois, code dedicated to the treatment and management of these elements. For the occasion, there were more than 20 complaints against the Chinese company for having collected and shared the biometric information of users without their consent, all starting from the use of facial filters present on the application.

TikTok, the choice as a double-edged sword?

It could therefore prove to be a boomerang for the social network dedicated to short videos, especially in light of the fuss that enveloped the company during theTrump administration, when the government tried to block the operation of the app throughout the US area.

Then, the decisive intervention that made it possible to bring the situation back into the ranks was the decision of keep the data of American users on the territory of the stars and stripes, as well as in the data centers of Singapore. In this way, the possibility of conveying even a single byte to China, the land of origin of the owner of TikTok, was eliminated in one fell swoop. ByteDance, and the risk of Americans saying goodbye to one of the most popular apps for young people.

Finally, it should be noted that WhatsApp in recent months has been overwhelmed by very heavy criticisms concerning the management of privacy for much less: the new Privacy Policy, now temporarily set aside, only provided for the sharing of a few anonymous information between WhatsApp and Facebook.

TikTok, new privacy storm: now it records our voice and our face