Simon Woodworth: TikTok isn't the problem — lack of a timely response to security risks is

A consistent level of basic security policy across all government departments should be expected — this would save money and reduce the risk of a data breach, writes Simon Woodworth

While it is unlikely that a foreign state entity will be particularly concerned with our latest cat videos, European and Irish GDPR legislation affords us distinct privacy rights. Those rights might not be vindicated by a social media platform that is subject to coercion by the Chinese government.

Yesterday the Washington Post ran an article about how a holocaust survivor and her grandson were using TikTok to educate teenagers about the grim reality of Nazi death camps during World War Two. The 84-year-old Tova Friedman now has 500,000 followers on her account. She is an excellent example of how social media can be used to reach people where other means might fail. It is also an example of how effective TikTok’s platform can be.

So why is there so much talk about banning TikTok? And why is it being singled out for special treatment? And why is there concern about government departmental response to the perceived threat of TikTok and other cyber security issues?