The debate around TikTok is most noticably filled with misinformation and hype, even from the BBC (which asserts "if your device's phone number begins 1, TikTok knows you're in the US", which is false, as every Canadian with a phone knows). There are concerns about the app collecting user data and sharing information, something pretty much every app does, so far as I can tell (so you shouldn't install TikTok on government devices, just as you should not install Facebook, Instagram or Twitter). The bigger concern is that "it's shaping the worldview of a lot of young people, and that can directly influence how they vote, how they view the world, the decisions that they make." This, again, is something other apps do as well; the distinction seems to be that the foreign influence is coming from China rather than Russia. As a Canadian I am concerned about both, and also about unwelcome political influence from south of our border. But the answer to this isn't to ban apps or support the sort of repressive measures employed by less free nations. We can find better and more enlightened solutions.
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