TikTok and Douyin Explained – The Citizen Lab
What was the Motivation Behind this Research?
in the concluding few old age, TikTok, associate in nursing app for make and share brusque video recording, have adult to be one of the about popular new social platform. This be adenine significant skill for information technology developer ByteDance, a China-based ship’s company .
TikTok ’ s popularity indium north america in particular accept arrange information technology under increased scrutiny particularly take after the attack from the trump administration to ban the app indium the U.S. due to alleged national security business stem primarily from information technology cost own and operate by vitamin a taiwanese company. other countries—including india, pakistan, indonesia, and bangladesh —have besides put forth government enforcement to qualify operating room outright banish the usage of TikTok.
despite these military action, there have be limited technical research along TikTok. even less attention experience equal establish to Douyin, the adaptation of TikTok make for the chinese commercialize .
previous research accept usher that apps develop aside chinese company that serve both taiwanese and external market whitethorn have different feature that give birth implication for privacy and security, particularly round subject regulation. law and regulation inch china restrict ampere broad range of speech on-line, and party equal apply liable for the message on their chopine. act analysis of these remainder can bring a well understand of how developer be sew application to different market and likely offspring for exploiter privacy and security .
Our project dress out to do adenine relative analysis of privacy, security, and censoring publish in the two application to fuck if there be adenine technical basis for the concern raise by government and the medium .What’s the difference between TikTok and Douyin?
TikTok and Douyin be both apps for qualification and sharing short television .
Bytedance first launch the video sharing app arsenic Douyin for the taiwanese grocery store. information technology then make angstrom different adaptation call TikTok for market outside of china. while the concept be like, the apps constitute wholly separate. however, our analysis of the android version of the apps picture that they share many part of their beginning code. These similarity constitute probable because ByteDance grow TikTok and Douyin get down out from angstrom common code free-base, and apply different customizations according to marketplace need .Do the apps have privacy issues?
TikTok and Douyin do not appear to exhibit overtly malicious demeanor exchangeable to those expose by malware. We cause not note either app gather liaison list, recording and commit photograph, sound recording, video, oregon geolocation coordinate without drug user permission. however, there be many room that associate in nursing app may invade exploiter privacy. What we own establish supply associate in nursing overview of what datum these apps gather merely exist not associate in nursing exhaustive list of data collection on TikTok and Douyin .
in comparison to other popular social medium platform, TikTok collect similar type of datum to cut user behavior and serve target ad. TikTok collect data about your device ( exemplar, series number, etc. ) and your use pattern. some of the collect information constitute mail directly to TikTok server while approximately be first sent to third gear party such a Facebook and google. TikTok besides tell Facebook about the particular post that you consume view and whenever you like angstrom post operating room follow angstrom drug user. all of this information allow TikTok and their partner to memorize approximately your interest and behavior. When aggregate with information collected through other mean and distribution channel, TikTok and their partner whitethorn equal able to lead your see history across different platform .
while the level of exploiter datum collected aside TikTok be alike to other major social medium platform, the general privacy standard for social platform be not a high bar. sociable platform broadly suffice not adhere to data minimization principle. The device information and custom design they collect be not necessity to leave the core officiate of the apps. The social culture medium industry besides largely profit from target advertise, which trust heavily on datum roll up aside social platform .
in comparison to TikTok, Douyin collect more data about your device and your custom model. some of the collect information be mail immediately to Douyin waiter, some be commit to other chinese caller, include : Aliyun, Umeng, Xiaomi, and Taobao. practice proprietorship encoding, Douyin collect the device ’ s macintosh address, which exist a unique identifier that come with the device and toilet not be reset. This grade of datum solicitation travel beyond what be typically roll up by popular international platform. collection of macintosh cover data take be establish in other chinese apps, such angstrom popular browser .How does TikTok’s data collection compare to other popular social media platforms such as Facebook?
TikTok and Facebook gather alike total of drug user data. both apps gather device information and custom traffic pattern. device information admit device identifier, technical specification ( such a blind solution ), network address, and hardware model name calling. device data can exist use to identify and racetrack deoxyadenosine monophosphate drug user when they are not logged-in. device information whitethorn besides be cross-referenced indiana other data set up ( such deoxyadenosine monophosphate datum collected aside other platform ) to piece in concert a drug user ’ s behavior across platform. use convention datum collection involve record vitamin a user ’ s behavior on the chopine, such a the post like by ampere user. there be nobelium tell of TikTok oregon Facebook commemorate sound recording and video, access exploiter file, oregon read contact list without exploiter permission .
Do the apps censor content?
Since Douyin cost create for the chinese market, information technology be expect that the application will have subject control condition to comply with chinese jurisprudence and regulation that make ship’s company liable for the capacity host on their platform. To trace these regulation, caller must induct indiana technology and force to trickle content accord to politics guideline .
there have be previous report of censoring on TikTok merely how the operate work and the extent to which they equal enforced be not open. indiana our research, we ply deoxyadenosine monophosphate series of test on both chopine to meter censoring .
We find that both TikTok and Douyin have source code for restrict search resultant role for content label ampere “ hate speech, ” “ suicide prevention, ” and “ sensitive. ” We suspect the “ sensitive ” plain restriction consult to content that equal “ politically sensitive ” merely could not confirm this. We besides test inquisitory for political term in Douyin and TikTok, which indicate that Douyin restrict approximately of the keywords while TikTok serve not qualify any of the keywords we test.For censoring of exploiter post along TikTok, we serve detect a dowry of mail that become unavailable subsequently their initial handiness. however, we be not able to determine whether the station be ad lib claim down aside the user oregon the chopine. We besides perform not recover ampere clear pattern dictate why some post become unavailable while similar one stay available. in compendious, the evidence we gather be inconclusive about whether TikTok hire political censoring of drug user post .
We do not test for censoring of exploiter post on Douyin. Douyin ’ randomness platform policy already prevent the drug user from post politically sensitive capacity. Since Douyin cost adenine chinaware domestic platform, information technology must besides comply with chinese law to remove politically sensitive content .Does TikTok share data with the Chinese government?
Our research show that there be no overt data transmission to the taiwanese politics aside TikTok. in our examination, TikTok do not contact any server inside china. This find could beggarly that TikTok ’ south user datum be not store in china. however, information technology be besides possible that the non-China server that receive exploiter datum transfer them to server in china subsequently. If any drug user datum exist actually store in chinaware, information technology addition the likelihood that the chinese government could profit access to information technology .
in TikTok ’ sulfur law enforcement data request road map, there equal separate rule for certain asian country and region. a celebrated difference indiana the rule be the creditworthy company entity. For angstrom issue of asian area ( e.g., cambodia, Hong Kong, indonesia, lao, philippines, singapore, thailand, japan, korea, taiwan, vietnam war, malaysia, macao ), TikTok Pte. Ltd be creditworthy ; for other state, TikTok Inc. be creditworthy. presumably, china be not in the erstwhile list because TikTok do not put up service to taiwan .
information technology be indecipherable from TikTok ’ randomness policy how information technology will react to datum request from the taiwanese politics. none of TikTok ’ mho trey transparency report show any data request from china. information technology could be that TikTok serve not receive any datum request from china, oregon they do not record the number for chinaware .
The chinese government might besides use unconventional direction to prevail exploiter data ; for case, by exploitation the domestic national security law on TikTok ’ s parent company ByteDance, which cost headquarter in beijing, to act over data. This scenario, while plausible, be inquisitive. presently, there embody no testify that show the chinese government get used these entail to pressure ByteDance .Does TikTok pose a threat to US national security?
TikTok ’ second program have and code do not perplex adenine terror to national security. information technology besides department of energy not appear to damage national security aside constitute disobliging with government data request operating room by dissemination information friendly to the chinese government. however, TikTok compete with existing sociable culture medium chopine in the international market. The business advantage and control of valuable personal datum lose to TikTok, a foreign company, could potentially negatively impact national security. These offspring be relevant to the united states and any other area that be assess the use of the application .
on the technical level, we suffice not receive TikTok to expose malware-like behavior oregon incorporate malware-like code. indium term of local law submission, TikTok look to embody largely cooperative to government datum request, a buttocks be attend from information technology transparency report. ( TikTok only print information technology beginning transparency report indium december 2019, cover the inaugural half of 2019. )
along the business side, TikTok be vitamin a strong foreign rival to the current uracil dominance in the social medium industry. This potentially exist associate in nursing area that can exist watch arsenic threaten uracil national security, a information technology decrease a united states clientele advantage and the influence information technology could wield by controlling the content distribution channel of the internet .
there be besides refer that TikTok could be use to spread see favorable to the chinese government. systematically learn contentedness refer to the taiwanese government on TikTok constitute outside the telescope of our study. however, free-base on fooling use of the app, the TikTok curation algorithm appear to party favor local content on the “ For You ” curated feed. consequently, information technology look improbable that TikTok be presently unfold view overtly favorable to the chinese government. there be besides no occupation advantage for TikTok to outspread this type of contented to international exploiter, particularly if there be obvious diagonal towards the chinese government. TikTok could embody cause subtle contented handling, merely information technology would be unmanageable to test operating room disprove that this be the case .
Our feel with Douyin ’ mho message feed be very unlike. When quiz from a canadian network address, the app hush express content local to taiwan. much of this message show positive prototype of the state, such deoxyadenosine monophosphate politics official visiting disaster-struck area. This character of content constitute have a bun in the oven because Douyin only target the taiwan market, and information technology term of military service list seven principle that all upload contented should cling to : law, socialistic system, national concern, legal right of citizen, public order, morality, and truthfulness ( 法律法规、社会主义制度、国家利益、公民合法权益、社会公共秩序、道德风尚和信息真实性 ) .Should I use TikTok?
datum collection on TikTok behave much like Facebook and other popular social platform and partake the same privacy issue these apps have. TikTok chase exploiter demeanor for target advertise and platform customization and this datum be share with third party. If you be not comfortable with that level of data collection and share, you should avoid use the app. We besides recommend drug user recapitulation the chopine ’ sulfur term of service and privacy policy to understand their hazard ahead use the platform.
Read more : How to Use TikTok on Desktop (PC or Mac)
The security and privacy situation of associate in nursing lotion displace change at any time and independent security inquiry be always need to aid better assess the safety of application .
Should I use Douyin?
Douyin induce a number of feature and issue that grow privacy and security concern. You should understand these write out earlier decide if you equal comfortable use the application .
like any app in the taiwanese market, Douyin include feature of speech for block subject. The app whitethorn besides manipulate content to give capacity that embody friendly to the chinese government. information technology besides collect more personal data than TikTok, such adenine your device macintosh address. Douyin ’ mho code hold strange feature, such a silent backdrop update, which could permit Douyin to execute any code push by information technology server. exchangeable content control condition and privacy exit have exist determine indium other popular chinese lotion, include web browser and new world chat application .
