The TikTok dilemma
President Trump has unexpectedly “saved TikTok.” After going dark for a few hours, the app came back online with the message, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US.”
This marks a dramatic departure from the President’s first term when he sought to ban the app outright, citing national security risks due to its ties to the Chinese company ByteDance.
These concerns led several countries, including New Zealand, to ban TikTok from all government devices.
A cynic (or realist) may characterise this flip-flop as self-interested. President Trump has almost 15 million followers on the platform, which boasts 170 million monthly American users and over one billion worldwide. He even credits TikTok for helping to secure his re-election, saying, “TikTok had an impact.” Another motivation could be that one of Trump Media’s investors—and a major Republican donor—has shares in ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company).
Whatever the reason, it is troubling that a nation’s leader appears to have abandoned his concerns about citizens’ data for political gain. This raises several concerns—and a few eyebrows.
A damning 2024 report from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) makes it clear that we have a privacy problem. The FTC highlighted how prominent social media and video streaming companies engage in extensive surveillance of users, monetising their personal information without providing adequate protection—especially for children and teenagers.
Whatever the reason, it is troubling that a nation’s leader appears to have abandoned his concerns about citizens’ data for political gain.
TikTok and other social media companies collect more than just a name and email address. They also collect biometric data (images and fingerprints), file and app information, and keystrokes, and they can potentially monitor facial expressions in real-time. At Maxim Institute, we recognise these risks, which is why we use a dedicated phone solely for social media engagement, minimising data exposure.
The question isn’t just what data they collect but how they use it to shape your reality—often in ways you don’t realise. The private data collected by these platforms doesn’t just sell you products; it shapes your opinions, decisions, and worldview, leaving you vulnerable to invisible, perception-shaping forces.
Your data fuels algorithms that prioritise interactions with like-minded individuals, driving fragmentation and polarisation. As platforms collect more data, their influence over users only grows.
This all sounds, well, Orwellian, so what can you do?
At least three things: first, limit data sharing. Review the permissions granted to apps on your devices and disable unnecessary ones. Avoid sharing sensitive information on platforms unless absolutely required. Second, use privacy-focused tools like the DuckDuckGo browser or VPNs like NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Third, delete any unnecessary or unused accounts. While this won’t erase your digital footprint entirely, it reduces the amount of data available to exploit.
When we blithely give away our data, we empower systems that don’t have our best interests at heart. By denying unnecessary access to our data, we push back against those who seek to control our digital lives.
It’s time to pick up our phones—and change some permissions.
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Communications Manager Jason Heale explains the thinking behind his column.