Chinese apps are a potential national security risk because of China’s authoritarian political system, two Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) experts said.
“Information security risks are national security risks,” said Tzeng Yi-suo (曾怡碩), an associate research fellow at the INDSR’s Division of Cyber Security and Decision-making Simulation.
“As long as the app is under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, there will basically be security concerns,” he added.
Photo: Reuters
Tzeng said that commercial companies collect data about app users and then use algorithms to tailor information and marketing.
This is not a problem in a democratic country governed by the rule of law such as Taiwan, because if the information involves judicial cases, the government would be required to go through legal procedures to obtain the information, he said.
However, the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets empower Chinese government agencies to require platform service providers to hand over users’ data “as long as they determine that national security is involved,” he said.
“How the Chinese government obtains the data and what it does with it is not transparent,” he added.
In areas under China’s authoritarian control, including Hong Kong and Macau, China “can assert its sovereignty” and “investigate the words and actions of users” using data collected by Chinese apps, he said.
In places outside its jurisdiction, “China’s authoritarian system” still poses risks to users, said Lee Jyun-yi (李俊毅), an associate research fellow at the INDSR’s Division of National Security Research.
Lee cited the US court testimony of former employees of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, as evidence that “TikTok does indeed transmit users’ personal information back to China.”
In addition to the security of personal data, Chinese apps such as Douyin and TikTok pose risks relating to the spread of false information, Lee said.
Lee said that although misleading information is not limited to Chinese apps, popular Western platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have adopted new methods to crack down on bot accounts and mark state-funded media.
“TikTok’s lack of effort to do so makes it relatively easy for false information to spread,” he said, adding that Chinese apps might “shape users’ perceptions” with the use of algorithms.
Up to 40 percent of popular videos on Chinese apps come from accounts controlled by the Chinese government, he said.
“The Chinese government has implemented legislation which requires media platforms’ algorithm recommendation models to comply with the values of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
Taking Douyin as an example, Lee said that the platform promotes content that is “beneficial to China,” and the Chinese government requires the platform to self-censor.
This makes it “difficult for short videos that are negative or critical of China to appear or spread, which has a long-term effect in shaping people’s perceptions,” he added.
The two security experts are not alone in their concerns about Chinese apps such as TikTok.
In March, then-minister of digital affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said TikTok had been classified as a “dangerous product.”
The use of the app is banned in government agencies and on their premises in Taiwan.
In April, US President Joe Biden signed into law a bill titled Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which requires ByteDance to divest its US assets or face a nationwide ban. The earliest such a ban could go into effect would be Jan. 19 next year.
India completely banned TikTok in June 2020, while countries including Australia, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Canada and New Zealand have separately imposed rules limiting certain people, especially government employees, from using the app due to cyber-security concerns.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS