India has banned as many as 106 Chinese apps, including TikTok, a
move welcomed by both the Trump administration and the US lawmakers.
The uncertain
future facing the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok
and its potential sale to a US-based company could alleviate national security
concerns about access to American user data, according to a tech expert.
Mike Horning, an associate professor of multimedia journalism in the Virginia
Tech School of Communication, said the growth of TikTok has raised concerns
among security experts because it uses a powerful algorithm that customises
content to users based on a number of user characteristics.
His remarks came
days after technology giant Microsoft said it will continue talks to purchase
TikTok's American business following a conversation between its India-born CEO
Satya Nadella and President Donald
Trump.
The statement from
the Redmond-headquartered Microsoft came after Trump said that he could use the
emergency economic powers or an executive order to ban TikTok in the US over
national security issues.
"The app has
gained attention because it uses a powerful algorithm that customises content
to users based on a number of user characteristics. This algorithm collects
such sophisticated data about users that the data is attractive to both
corporations and governments," Horning said.
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