Lookout, Inc., the data-centric cloud security company, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. House of Representatives passing a bill on Wednesday, March 13, that will force TikTok to divest within 165 days of the law’s implementation or risk being banned in the U.S.:
“The House legislation marks a pivotal moment for mobile security in the United States. U.S. lawmakers understand the power of this kind of data and the immediate threat to national security that apps like TikTok pose. Social media apps like TikTok capture extensive amounts of data, and when they are owned/operated by Chinese companies, this concern is compounded. Chinese companies are subject to the National Intelligence Law, which contains provisions that may compel them to share data with the government, including data collected internationally.
The House’s vote makes it clear that the U.S. government believes TikTok’s data safeguards do not meet acceptable security standards.
TikTok can collect and analyze sensitive data from mobile devices, including:
- brand;
- model operating system (OS) version;
- keystroke patterns;
- IP address;
- personally identifiable information (PII) such as age, image and personal contacts;
- preferences;
- and data collected through single sign-on (SSO) features that allow users to sign into TikTok from other platforms.
In addition to concerns about the depth of data platforms like TikTok collect, social media platforms also have an outsized influence on current events, media consumption overall and especially election misinformation. Potentially adversarial countries like China should not control the algorithms that decide which political content Americans are exposed to and what is hidden from them.
We expect to see increased global momentum around this issue in the coming months as the world awaits the Senate’s decision on the bill. The U.S. government has a duty to ensure the safety of its citizens and their data while proactively addressing overall risks to national security.
TikTok is the tip of the iceberg. There are more than nine million apps in the Lookout data corpus that communicate with IPs, domains or servers in China. Federal agencies, local governments and enterprises must all take the necessary precautions to include a mobile threat defense solution on devices that will control and prevent the leakage of sensitive data to China.
Lookout is committed to doing its part to help advance this conversation and broader awareness, as only then can we take the necessary steps to properly protect our data and privacy. We are trusted with securing the mobile devices used by government agencies and major corporations. As a security partner, Lookout helps implement the technology and data strategies needed to enforce organizational policies surrounding TikTok, as well as help them understand the exposure risks posed by any mobile app and how they can protect themselves.”
– David Richardson, Vice President of Product, Endpoint and Security, Lookout
Click here for more information on how Lookout helps governments and organizations mitigate the risk of mobile data being leaked through apps or websites using Chinese domains
About Lookout
Lookout, Inc. is the data-centric cloud security company that uses a defense-in-depth strategy to address the different stages of a modern cybersecurity attack. Data is at the core of every organization, and our approach to cybersecurity is designed to protect that data within today’s evolving threat landscape no matter where or how it moves. People — and human behavior — are central to the challenge of protecting data, which is why organizations need total visibility into threats in real-time. The Lookout Cloud Security Platform is purpose-built to stop modern breaches as swiftly as they unfold, from the first phishing text to the final cloud data extraction. We are trusted by enterprises and government agencies of all sizes to protect the sensitive data they care about most, enabling them to work and connect freely and securely. To learn more, visit www.lookout.com and follow Lookout on our blog, LinkedIn and X.
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