Here's what upsets me about the tiktok ban. Yeah, tiktok is spyware and yes, that app needs to go.
But they didn't ban "apps that secretly record your every movement on your phone and spy on you." They banned tiktok.
And sure, tiktok is owned by a foreign government and whatever, but personally, I trust Zuckerberg, Musk, and Bezos as much as I trust Xi. They're all bad.
The move should have been to get rid of apps that record what you do off the app. But that would mean banning a lot of American apps as well. Look, if you're using
- Snapchat
- Amazon
- Audible
- Google and any related apps
- KidsGuard
- Cam Scanner
- certain weather apps
- some flashlight apps
- Angry Birds
- Zombie Mod
- Doordash
- Tinder
- Grindr
- Ring (yes, the camera security app)
... then you're using spyware.
These apps are just as dangerous as tiktok and yeah, I think they should be banned. Go back to a website where cookies can be denied and your entire search history isn't visible to these websites.
There was a good reason to ban tiktok, but instead of addressing the problem, they're just attacking a Chinese app. China isn't the problem. The problem is apps that can open your camera, track your movements, record your searches, listen to phone calls, etc.
This is a privacy issue and the government is willfully not addressing the actual problem here.