Kenyan lawmaker urges Senate to launch investigation into TikTok over data safety concerns

Amid concerns over data security, Kenyan lawmaker Falhad Dikow is reported to have urged the Senate to investigate the Chinese social media application TikTok on Friday, September 18. This comes as governments across the world have raised alarm over TikTok's reach and fear that the social media app could be feeding viable user data to Chinese authorities. 

As per reports in The Star, the Kenyan lawmaker cited serious allegations against the app pertaining to personal data privacy and claimed that the app has been used to spread violence, hate speech, bully and exchange social explicit content.

Read: Trump Not Ready To OK TikTok Deal, Admits US Won't Get Cut

TikTok threat

The local newspaper reported Dikow telling the Kenyan Senate that if allowed, the Chinese video application gathers information on the user’s country location, internet address, and type of the device. She added that it also somehow manages to discover the user’s exact location, phone’s contact, and various social media network connections while raising concerns over the app's innate understanding of users' preferences.

According to the newspaper, Dikow asked the Standing Committee on Information and Technology to join hands with various other helpful agencies to draw a legal framework ensuring user safety. She is also reported to have raised ethical concerns about the application and noted that the application has contributed negatively to Kenyans’ society. Senator Samson Cherargei supported Dikow, as per reports.

Read: Trump Not Ready To Approve Oracle-TikTok Deal As Majority Stake Lies With Chinese Company

Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce has announced prohibitions on transactions relating to Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok citing national security concerns. According to a press release, the US will bar Americans from downloading both the mobile applications from either Apple or Google’s app storefronts starting on September 20.

The Commerce Department confirmed that the new order will prohibit any provision of service to distribute or maintain WeChat or TikTok, constituent code or application updates through online mobile application stores in the US. The official release said that the Chinese Communist Party had demonstrated the means and motives to use mobile applications to threaten national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the United States. Further, it stated that the new prohibitions will help protect users in the US by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality. 

Read: US Bans Chinese Apps WeChat And TikTok From Sept 20 Citing National Security

Also Read: Trump Says Oracle 'very Close To A Deal' Over ByteDance’s TikTok

(Image Credits: Unsplash/Twitter/Kbonimtetez)