The IT Nerd

Bad news for TikTok, they’ve lost an appeal in the US to stay alive in that country:

A U.S. federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment.

“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”

Ted Miracco, CEO, Approov had this to say: 

  “The U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on TikTok underscores key concerns in mobile app security, API vulnerabilities, and the dominance of Apple and Google in app ecosystems. While the ban targets national security risks tied to foreign ownership, it also highlights systemic issues in app distribution and the lack of federal data privacy laws. This regulatory gap allows platform owners to enforce opaque policies that often prioritize profit over user protection, enabling excessive data harvesting and weak penalties for violations. A robust, enforceable policy is crucial, especially to protect minors from app-based surveillance and manipulative algorithms.

  “Though TikTok faces scrutiny for data risks tied to foreign ownership, similar accountability should extend to all apps, including U.S.-based platforms like Meta and Amazon, which have faced privacy abuse allegations. TikTok’s case illustrates broader cybersecurity challenges, emphasizing the need for a transparent, comprehensive framework to address the structural flaws in app ecosystems. Prioritizing security, transparency, and accountability is essential to safeguarding users.”

While incoming President Trump could save them, I am not so sure that’s going to happen. The thing is that TikTok as a company is suspect at best. And if something is suspect, you likely need to put it under the microscope at the very least, and deal with it if your worst fears are confirmed. The first part is done already, now it’s time to deal with them.

I have to admit that didn’t see this coming. But here we are talking about the fact that the Canadian Government has banned TikTok…. Sort of:

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the decision to wind down TikTok’s two Canadian offices — in Toronto and Vancouver —  was based on information and evidence that surfaced during a national security review, and the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community.

“We came to the conclusion that these activities that were conducted in Canada by TikTok and their offices would be injurious to national security,” he told CBC News.

“I’m not at liberty to go into much detail, but I know Canadians would understand when you’re saying the government of Canada is taking measures to protect national security, that’s serious.”

The sort of part comes from the fact that Canadian citizens can still use TikTok if they want, but the Canadian Government would rather you didn’t:

The statement stressed that the government is not blocking Canadians from accessing the app or using it to create content.

“The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice,” the statement said.

But Champagne urged Canadians to use TikTok “with eyes wide open.” Critics have claimed that TikTok users’ data could be obtained by the Chinese government.

“Obviously, parents and anyone who wants to use social platform should be mindful of the risk,” he said.

As for TikTok, they basically said “see you in court.” So this isn’t exactly a done deal. But clearly the Canadian Government is out to get TikTok. And it would not shock me if there is more to come on this front. In the meantime, I’m waiting for TikTok to file whatever lawsuit they plan to file so that I can see how that plays out as it seems that Canada is the latest place where TikTok is fighting for its survival.

TikTok is home to a community of curious minds. From discovering new stories on #BookTok to exploring new cultures and finding new life hacks,#LearnonTikTok encourages our community to continue their journey of joyful discovery. Millions of Canadians come to TikTok each month to express themselves authentically, be entertained and learn new things.

Today, TikTok is thrilled to announce the launch of TikTok’s dedicated STEM feed in Canada. This feed offers a viewing experience exclusive to STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and comes to Canada to empower continued discovery on TikTok and connect a dynamic community of individuals over their shared passion for learning. Canadian users will be able to click into the STEM feed, which will be turned on by default for all Canadian users, to open up a dedicated world of knowledge and education.

The STEM feed will feature Canadian creators and organizations that share enriching educational content, such as @AsapSCIENCE, @cheggbiology,@drrachelbarr, @justin_agustin, @nileredextra, @onlinekyne, @ROMtoronto, @science.bae, @sciencenorth and @wildkrattstv. These creators and many more, are creating a range of content that bridges the world of entertaining, engaging creativity and educational content with their unique styles.

To help ensure high-quality STEM content for our community, TikTok continues to partner with Common Sense Networks and Poynter. Common Sense reviews all content and ensures it’s appropriate for the STEM feed. And Poynter continues to partner to assess the reliability of information presented. If content does not pass both checkpoints, it will not be eligible for the STEM feed.

TikTok has a lot of problems at the moment. But you can add one more problem to the list. On Friday the US Department Of Justice sued TikTok. Here’s the details from The Verge:

The DOJ claims that TikTok knowingly let kids onto its platform through its “Kids Mode,” collected their information, and failed to delete their accounts at their parents’ requests, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). When a kid under 13 entered their age on the app, they’d be prompted to enter a username, which doesn’t contain personal information, and it would create a Kids Mode account for the user. But the app wouldn’t notify parents or get their consent. Kids can’t upload videos in that mode, but they can view videos; the DOJ alleges that TikTok collected some personal information on them as part of this process, like unique device identifiers and IP addresses.

The lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s age-gating techniques “are deficient in multiple ways.” Under an earlier practice, TikTok would let users restart the account creation process even if they’d originally entered a birthday showing they’re under 13, according to the complaint. TikTok also used to let users log in through Instagram or Google, which would categorize the accounts as “age unknown,” the DOJ alleges.

The DOJ says TikTok has let millions of kids use its platform but said it’s hard to pin down the exact scale of its violations because it didn’t comply with a requirement from a 2019 injunction to keep records on its COPPA compliance. The DOJ is asking the court to prevent TikTok from violating COPPA in the future and pay civil penalties for each violation. Under the FTC Act, civil penalties can go up to $51,744 per violation, per day.

TikTok for its part tried to deflect this:

TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in a statement that the company disagrees with the DOJ’s claims, “many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.”

Seeing as they could be banned in the US soon, TikTok doesn’t need this. It underlines the fact that TikTok is considered by many to be suspect as best. And there’s no way for them to back away from that. I can’t see how TikTok can continue to be a going concern as I am sure that this is a moment that may spell the end of TikTok.

TikTok has been pwned via a zero day related to opening direct messages. That’s bad. But it gets worse:

According to the report, the bad actors behind these attacks are transmitting malware through DMs on the popular social media app. Distressingly, the malware does not require the victim to download any software or click on a malicious link. Apparently, all you have to do to potentially infect your device is open a DM with the malware present.

This is seemingly connected to a separate report from Semafor, which noted on Sunday that a hacker broke into CNN’s TikTok account last week, prompting the news organization to take the account down. While some CNN staffers told Semafor that the team had been lax with its digital safety practices, one network source added that the breach came from outside of the company. It’s entirely possible that a staffer opened one of the malicious DMs.

A CNN spokesperson told Semafor that the company is “working with TikTok on the backend on additional cybersecurity measures” to ensure that their account is secure during the presidential debates and other noteworthy events in the coming weeks. At the time of writing, the main CNN TikTok account is still unavailable on the platform.

Apparently other TikTok accounts have been pwned as well. What makes this worse is that anyone can be a victim of this attack. That’s not good. Ted Miracco, CEO of Approov had this to say:

   “The TikTok security issue serves as a crucial wake-up call about the vulnerabilities present in apps from official stores. It highlights the need for greater transparency, cooperation, and the adoption of advanced security measures to protect users. Many users believe that apps available on official app stores are inherently safe. This perception is perpetuated by the rigorous app review processes that Google and Apple claim to implement. However, the reality is that even apps from these stores are not immune to zero-day vulnerabilities and sophisticated attacks. 

   “Zero-day vulnerabilities, by definition, are previously unknown flaws that can be exploited before the developer has a chance to address them. The presence of such vulnerabilities in popular apps like TikTok is alarming. It indicates that even the most widely used and scrutinized apps can have hidden security flaws, putting millions of users at risk.

   “To build a more secure app ecosystem, transparency is key, and independence from Google and Apple controlling the release process. Developers need to control the process, and users need to be informed about the security measures taken by app developers and the potential risks associated with using certain apps. Furthermore, the industry must move towards open standards and greater cooperation among stakeholders. By addressing these challenges, we can work towards a safer and more secure app ecosystem.”

This is likely the last thing that TikTok needs. Hopefully they are completely transparent about what’s going on here and how they plan on addressing this. Otherwise this will add to their problems.

In one of the last times that I talked about TikTok, I mentioned this:

A Reuters report that was posted late yesterday has blown my mind. In short, ByteDance who’s back is against the way because of Congress all but banning TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t sell it, actually prefers that that the app be banned in the US if legal options fail 

The reason being is that TikTok’s Chinese corporate masters ByteDance doesn’t want anyone to get the algorithm that runs TikTok. Here’s my thoughts on that:

Assuming that this is true, I have to wonder what do those algorithms do? Every social network except Mastodon has them. But they’re usually to present you with stuff that you’re interested in. Or try to target advertising towards you. The cynic in me says that they do a lot more than that, and ByteDance doesn’t want anyone to find those details out. That also suggests to me that TikTok and ByteDance fighting to keep the app alive in the USA is not about users or free speech or anything like that. Which makes this ban the right decision as clearly ByteDance has something to hide that likely is counter to their core agreements.

Fast forward to today and according to Reuters, that might be changing:

TikTok is working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for its 170 million U.S. users that may result in a version that operates independently of its Chinese parent and be more palatable to American lawmakers who want to ban it, according to sources with direct knowledge of the efforts.

The work on splitting the source code ordered by TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance late last year predated a bill to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations that began gaining steam in Congress this year. The bill was signed into law in April.

The sources, who were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the short-form video sharing app, said that once the code is split, it could lay the groundwork for a divestiture of the U.S. assets, although there are no current plans to do so.

The company has previously said it had no plans to sell the U.S. assets and such a move would be impossible.

TikTok initially declined to comment. After publication of this story, TikTok in a posting on X said “The Reuters story published today is misleading and factually inaccurate,” without specifying what was inaccurate.

That’s interesting. TikTok and ByteDance wouldn’t be doing this for giggles. And I can see them wanting to keep this on the down low as it undercuts one of their main arguments about the algorithm. All of this assumes that this is true. Which you have to at least consider that this story is at least plausible as I really cannot see any scenario where ByteDance simply allows TikTok to be banned in the US. Which in turn would likely lead to bans in other countries.Thus they have to have a plan B of some sort. Regardless, it’s not going to take long to find out if this is true or not.

Amidst ongoing efforts to champion online safety, today MediaSmarts, the Canadian charitable organization for digital media literacy, has announced the launch of its online safety resource for parents, guardians and caregivers to navigate online spaces for their teens.

The resource was specifically designed by MediaSmarts in collaboration with TikTok to provide insights and practical advice to help foster a secure and positive online environment for teens on the app.

The guide, titled, Talking TikTok: A Family Guide is available as of May 15, 2024 on the MediaSmarts website, highlighting TikTok’s safety and privacy guidelines and features, while showcasing MediaSmarts’s best practices for digital citizenship. It equips parents and users with essential tools to make informed decisions about content sharing and prioritize the well-being of youth on the platform.

The guide can be found here: https://mediasmarts.ca/talking-tiktok-family-guide

This morning, TikTok announced that they have become the first video sharing platform to start automatically labeling AI-generated content (AIGC) that’s made on other platforms by implementing Content Credentials, a new technology from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). TikTok already labels AIGC made with TikTok AI effects and were the first to launch an AIGC labeling tool which over 37M creators have used since September 2023.

On top of that, TikTok is launching new media literacy campaigns that we developed with guidance from experts including Mediawise. And they are also joining the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) to help drive Content Credentials adoption.

TikTok put out a full statement on this here: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-ca/partnering-with-our-industry-to-advance-ai-transparency-and-literacy-ca

We all knew this was coming, and the much expected lawsuit by TikTok against the US government has been filed:

TikTok and ByteDance filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

“Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok: a vibrant online forum for protected speech and expression used by 170 million Americans to create, share, and view videos over the Internet,” the company said in the suit. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide.”

“Banning TikTok is so obviously unconstitutional, in fact, that even the Act’s sponsors recognized that reality, and therefore have tried mightily to depict the law not as a ban at all, but merely a regulation of TikTok’s ownership. According to its sponsors, the Act responds to TikTok’s ultimate ownership by ByteDance Ltd., a company with Chinese subsidiaries whose employees support various ByteDance businesses, including TikTok. They claim that the Act is not a ban because it offers ByteDance a choice: divest TikTok’s U.S. business or be shut down.”

TikTok added in the complaint, “If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down.”

This should be fun to watch. I say that because while I am not a lawyer, actual lawyers have said that courts tend to side with the US government when it comes to national security issues. So this might be a last roll of the dice by TikTok and ByteDance. And if it fails, we’ll likely see if all their talk of not selling out is just talk or not.

If TikTok isn’t in enough trouble as it is, you can add angering Apple to the list. TechCrunch is reporting that it appears that the beleaguered social network appears to be trying to dodge App Store fees:

TikTok may be routing around the App Store to save money on commissions. According to new findings, the ByteDance-owned social video app is presenting some of its users with a link to a website for purchasing the coins used for tipping digital creators. Typically, these coins are bought via in-app purchase, which requires a 30% commission paid to Apple.

The feature may be hidden from most users, either by design or because it’s only shown to users in a specific group, like testers or high spenders. In any event, those who do have access to the new option are seeing a screen that encourages them to “recharge” — that is, buy more coins — via tiktok.com. Although these screenshots were discovered within the iOS app by TechCrunch tipster David Tesler, it’s not clear how many TikTok users are seeing them or when or how they’re being shown.

Tesler says the option to purchase via the web was displayed to an account that had previously purchased a large amount of coins.

In some cases, users are shown a screen that includes a message such as “Try recharging on tiktok.com to avoid in-app service fees” followed by a “Try now” link. Other times, they may get a pop-up that says “Try recharging on tiktok.com” with another message about the potential savings. This one reads, “You can save the service fee and get access to popular payment methods,” and is followed by a big, red “Try now” button or a less prominent option that says “Don’t show again.”

That honestly is exactly the sort of thing that Epic Games tried to do which led to it being punted off the App Store, not to mention the Google Play store. If TikTok is truly that stupid to try this, I expect the same result. Which means that they won’t have to worry about the US Government shutting them down. Instead they will have to worry about Apple and presumably Google taking them out globally.

This should be fun to watch.