Current Final

Tag: social media

  • Student sues TikTok over alleged data transfer

    Student sues TikTok over alleged data transfer

    A university student in California named Misty Hong, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Chinese-based social media video app TikTok, accusing it of harvesting large amounts of user data and storing it in China, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, the court filing said, “TikTok clandestinely has vacuumed up and transferred to servers in China vast quantities of private and personally-identifiable user data”.

    The lawsuit has alleged, “TikTok also has surreptitiously taken user content, such as draft videos never intended for publication, without user knowledge or consent”.

    “In short, TikTok’s lighthearted fun comes at a heavy cost,” the lawsuit said.

    The social media app which is quiet popular with teenagers around the world, was launched by Chinese company ByteDance in September 2017.

    The suit marks the latest legal battle for the app. Earlier in November, the United States (US) government had opened a national security investigation into TikTok, according to the New York Times, potentially looking into whether the app was sending data to China.

    Misty Hong alleges that the app retrieved her data without permission – including videos that she had created but not shared online with friends – and transferred that data to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government.

    Hong filed the suit on behalf of the approximately 110 million US residents who have downloaded the app.

    In November, TikTok didnot gave any comment on a possible US investigation but emphasised that the respect of US users and regulators was its highest priority.

    TikTok claimed that it has distanced itself from Chinese authorities, maintaining that its servers are located outside of the country and that its data is therefore not subject to Chinese law.

    In November, the app hit 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, outperforming the photo-sharing app Instagram.

  • Aurat March 2020 receives backlash on social media

    The poster Aurat March was met with rape and death threats after it was upload on social media last week.   

    Aurat March (women march) calls for women, transgender, and other suppressed gender groups to raise voice against injustice and deeply embedded patriarchy in our society. Unfortunately, within an hour of upload – the post was bombarded with crushing sexist and misogynist comments

    While talking to Express Tribune, the organizers said that they can take little action against such response on social media.

    “The maximum we can do is to report it on Facebook,” said the organizers adding, “We’ll stand for the cause and call out this unjust treatment – those who’re posting threats will not get away with all this.”

    The Aurat March team said that they are partnering with legal teams to tackle bullying and threats. 

    It is ironic that these people are getting uncomfortable because suppressed genders are demanding equal rights and better treatment in society, whereas when people like Khadim Hussain Rizvi outrageously abused and curse publically – the only concern for people is the inconvenience in traveling and day to day life.

  • Govt contemplating ban on WhatsApp, social media in government offices

    The federal government is reportedly contemplating imposing a complete ban on the use of social media by government servants during work hours.

    According to reports in the local media, this suggestion was put forth by the National Information Technology Board (NITB) officials during a meeting of National Assembly (NA) standing committee on Information and Technology.

    Reports stated that not only would the use of social media applications or pages including Facebook and Whatsapp be banned during the office timings but officials would also be barred from bringing storage devices-USBs- to the offices. This recommendation was put forth to address concerns related to data theft. Recently, a spate of leaked notifications from government offices has sparked anger in power circles.

    It has even led to the circulation of fake notifications on social media to discredit a particular governmental agency or official. The technology board has urged the government to act against this threat.

    The committee was informed that a new local social network, modeled on WhatsApp, would be introduced into government offices to streamline communications.

    E-offices will be established at every ministry, which will be interconnected.

    “Any official information would be shared on the server after prior approval of the federal authorities.”

    Moreso, it was recommended that government employees be barred from indulging in any part-time businesses.

    Meanwhile, the board also advised that a separate authority be set up to combat the spread of fake news across the country.

  • Organised groups controlling social media in Pakistan: report

    Organised groups controlling social media in Pakistan: report

    A hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan on Thursday, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country.

    The hashtag #ArrestAntiPakjournalists had dropped to second place by evening, but not before it had been used or forwarded more than 28,000 times.

    Many users accompanied it with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the powerful military establishment.

    “These are the people who are responsible for chaos, anarchy, manipulation. They are the real enemy of the states,” said one tweet.

    “Hang them all #ArrestAntiPakJournalists,” said another.

    Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report that the military has “quietly, but effectively, set restrictions on reporting”, although it denies doing so.

    Shahzad Ahmed, of digital rights group Bytes for All, said the hashtag appeared to have been “planted” by pro-PTI accounts and was not “genuine public opinion”.

    “There are organised groups who start such trends… which is a very dangerous phenomenon in our country, regarding freedom of expression and personal freedom,” he told AFP.

    “Responsible use of social media is now becoming impossible in our country. Now we use social media, only to abuse others and to promote fake news and to disrespect each other, which is completely wrong.”

    An image of Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s most high-profile TV anchors, was prominent among the photographs of journalists being shared.

    Mir made international headlines in 2014 after surviving multiple gunshot wounds in an attack he blamed on Pakistan’s top spy organisation.

    Two days ago he launched a Twitter tirade against increasing censorship after his interview with former president Asif Ali Zardari, now an opposition leader, was abruptly taken off the air shortly after it began.

    “We are not living in a free country,” he wrote.