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Microsoft/TikTok News Casts Spotlight on Privacy and Security

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Microsoft confirmed widespread speculation that the technology giant is in talks to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok.

On August 2, Microsoft confirmed widespread speculation that the technology giant is in talks to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok, the wildly popular app that has run afoul of the Trump administration. The acquisition may turn out to be a defining moment in the ongoing conversation about privacy and security in the United States.

To summarize some key moments in the unfolding story:

  • Its popularity has also been a cause for concern among the U.S. government. In July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was looking into restricting Americans’ access to the app. Why? Because, as Pompeo put it, Americans who use TikTok risk having their personal data fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist party. Put another way: Pompeo said TikTok is suspected as being used as a tool for spying on the activities of U.S. citizens. On July 31, President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States.
  • Microsoft, obviously keen to address the concern about data privacy, said that “Among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred.”

Up until now, security and privacy have been largely abstract concepts to most Americans. I doubt many Americans could speak fluently about the implications of the California Consumer Privacy Act (I doubt many legislators could, too). And the infamous Facebook privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica remains murky and difficult to untangle. But the idea of a foreign power tapping into your personal data usage to spy on you through an app makes the issue feel visceral and real. And Microsoft acknowledging the need to safeguard and secure TikTok’s user data underscores the reality of the threat.

One obvious question: why is Microsoft interested in TikTok? Ironically, getting access to user data might be a big reason. As The Verge reported,

[TikTok user] data could be used by Microsoft in a variety of ways. The software giant has long used Xbox Live to fuel parts of Microsoft Research for future software and hardware projects, and the usage data helps game developers and Microsoft better understand how people use their Xbox. Understanding how people interacted with and used the Kinect accessory for the Xbox ultimately helped Microsoft develop and improve HoloLens, too.

TikTok could help correct a Microsoft blind spot and even influence how other software and services are developed inside the company. Microsoft has all the data it needs on business usage of software, but it hasn’t been successful with pure consumer services in recent years, which has left the company with a gap of insight into consumer behaviors.

But using your personal data in and of itself is not a violation of your privacy so long as Microsoft, like any company, is transparent about how it uses your data and allows users to opt out of the process. These are reasons why Microsoft publishes and revises a privacy statement detailing these very issues.

Microsoft still has many hurdles to overcome to pull off the deal. For TikTok, the potential acquisition (which also covers Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) likely provides a welcome respite from a mushrooming conflict with the U.S. government over user privacy and security.