Until last November, the social video app was using an extra layer of encryption to conceal how it was collecting MAC addresses, unique identifiers for each user’s device, which can be used for advertising purposes. “The current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses,” the company told The Wall Street Journal. Google did not comment. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Until last November, the social video app was using an extra layer of encryption to conceal how it was collecting MAC addresses, unique identifiers for each user’s device, which can be used for advertising purposes. “The current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses,” the company told The Wall Street Journal. Google did not comment. (The Wall Street Journal)
Talking point: The findings come at a delicate time for TikTok, which is facing mounting pressure from the White House over the access to U.S. user data it gives its Chinese parent company ByteDance. Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to cut off all U.S, transactions with the company, beginning September 20, if it is not able to complete a sale of its U.S. operations by then. The company is currently in talks with Microsoft and Twitter. A ban could prohibit U.S. app stores from offering TikTok. It also threatens TikTok’s plans to hire 10,000 U.S. employees and could disrupt the influencer economy. Beijing has added the ban on both TikTok and WeChat to the agenda of the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks.
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