Tick Tock, TikTok

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2020

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

All the kids are talking about it. And now, so are government officials and corporate bigwigs. An app typically known for short, clever videos (and lots of dancing), TikTok has recently found itself at the center of international scrutiny. Critics say that TikTok’s massive presence in the US is a national security risk because the app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company. Business leaders are also worried, in some cases asking their employees to delete the app from their devices. But what risks does TikTok really pose? And is this debate more than just a proxy for rising tensions between the US and China?

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED staff writer Louise Matsakis joins us to talk about TikTok culture and what would happen if the app actually got banned.

Show Notes:

Read Louise’s story about the national security risks TikTok poses here. Read more about Amazon’s “accidental” TikTok ban here. Read Louise’s story about inmates who use TikTok in prison here. Read more about WitchTok users hexing the moon here.

Recommendations:

Louise recommends Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux. Mike recommends The War on Cars podcast. Lauren recommends Alan Henry’s WIRED article about how to stay productive while sheltering in place.

Louise Matsakis can be found on Twitter @lmatsakis. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Mike.
0:01.0	Lauren.
0:02.0	Mike, are you on TikTok?
0:05.0	I am not. I'm far too old for TikTok.
0:08.0	I mean, is there an official age cut off for TikTok? Not really. You could be on TikTok.
0:14.0	Yeah, but like unofficially, I think once you're a man in your 40s, you just should not be on TikTok.
0:19.0	All right, fair enough. I browse it sometimes.
0:22.5	But TikTok is a big deal, and it's getting even more attention these days because it's
0:27.2	become a question of national security.
0:29.9	And we're going to talk about that right now.
0:36.6	Hi, everyone. Welcome to Gadget Lab. I'm Lauren Good, a senior writer at Wired. Wired senior editor Michael
0:44.7	Kalori is here too, and by here, I mean there. He's over there. Hello from over here.
0:50.5	Hello, Mike. And we are also joined by Wired staff writer Louise Metzakis from New York. Hi, Louise.
0:56.5	Hey.
0:57.1	Thanks so much for being here. So today we're talking about TikTok. Last week, this app, which is for short, clever videos that the kids and influencers are all about, this app is now at the center of this ongoing power struggle
1:12.2	between the U.S. and China. Critics say that TikTok's massive presence here is a national
1:18.6	security risk because the app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company. And it's not just
1:24.4	the government that's worried about TikTok. Amazon and Wells Fargo recently made a lot of headlines when these companies sent out statements
1:32.4	to their employees asking them to delete the app.
1:35.5	I mean, Amazon story is a little weird.
1:37.1	The company later backtracked and said that the emails were sent accidentally.
1:42.1	I don't know what that means.
	...

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