TikTok In The Dock

As US battles the app India banned, all govts need to be alert on foreign access to citizens’ data

In India an intense debate on Aadhaar has been taking place I across courts, govts, other state agencies and civil society. At its core has been the intersection of unique personal identity, biometrics and data security. But as important as addressing these issues domestically is, tackling them across international borders is also critical. Hence the 352-strong US House vote against TikTok yesterday. in 2020, this was because

Bad daddy | When India banned this app its parent company’s jurisdiction in China was seen as a national security threat. Four years later, the same issue is coming to a boil in US. Forcing its sale to a non-Chinese owner is the solution a bipartisan bill is demanding. NSA Jake Sullivan has explained that the legislation is about whether American children and adults’ data stays at home or goes to China. Of course, he won’t be losing any sleep over other countries being similarly concerned – about

their citizens’ data getting offshored to US. Worldcoin threat | A year ago, Kenya suspended this project led by OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Spain has done the same now. Basically the company has set up ‘orbs’ across the world, which scan users’ eyeballs in exchange for cryptocurrency. This incentive combines with low digital literacy to pull in low-income participants. Why govts need to step in, is to check how their vulnerable citizens’ biometric data is being secured,