utrgvtv 
EDINBURG- With concerns ranging from stolen user data to adverse effects on children, TikTok has become one of the most controversial apps on the mobile market.
To address the potential threat of TikTok towards U.S. citizens, Virginia Senator Mark Warner has drafted and proposed the RESTRICT Act, a bill that could potentially lead to the app’s ban.
The legislation would give the U.S. Secretary of Commerce the power to monitor and oversee online activity that it deems as “posing an undue or unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”
While the bill itself does not explicitly mention TikTok, Senator Warner released a statement clarifying the reasoning behind its creation, citing, “growing concerns with consumer software from vendors in the People’s Republic of China.”
Tenured Computer Science Professor at UTRGV, John Abraham, stated why TikTok’s metadata collection could be troublesome.
“Metadata is quite different from data itself,” said Abraham. “It has information about where you are at the time you’re watching it, where you move from one location to another… it’s so much information they collect whenever somebody views a video or posts one.”
Abraham added that this issue is prescient throughout the online sphere due to app permissions allowing the access of location services, storage, and microphone access.
“When you’re dealing with TikTok or any social media,” said Abraham, “they have a set of knowledge you are unaware of.”
The RESTRICT Act has yet to move forward in the Senate since its introduction. More information will be available as legislation continues.
