AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan, controversial UFC commentator and podcaster, was left shocked after he read the terms and conditions of Chinese app TikTok. According to the 55-year-old podcaster, the Chinese app is taking data from its users.
The host of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' talked about how TikTok, one of the most popular social media apps globally, might endanger the privacy of its users' personal information.
Joe Rogan finds TikTok guidelines 'so crazy'
Joe Rogan informed his guest Theo Von during episode #1847 of the podcast that is only available on Spotify, "Oh my God! I read TikTok's terms and services. I went down [a] TikTok rabbit hole yesterday. I stayed home, smoked a little weed, and started reading up on TikTok. Oh my God! I'm gonna read you this 'cause this is so crazy."
Rogan continued to study the articles in TikTok's privacy statement. Although he voiced concern about a number of its features, he seemed to be most concerned about TikTok's capacity to track "keystroke patterns" and "audio settings."
The comic claimed that accepting the rules permits TikTok to listen to and see what its users type using the microphones on their smartphones. Von then enquired to Rogan about what occurs when TikTok gathers user data. The UFC color analyst responded, saying, "It ends with China having all your data."
Theo Von questioned the host if he believed TikTok was made specifically for the aim of data mining during their conversation. Rogan declared categorically that he "100%" thinks such is the case.
Joe Rogan believes China launched TikTok to gather data
The former 'Fear Factor' host guessed, "I think they saw that people are addicted to social media and they came up with the most addictive version of social media, which is TikTok. It's the most addictive by far. It's the best for sucking people in."
TikTok exploded onto the social media scene at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since October 2020, the Chinese-owned video-sharing network has amassed more than two billion downloads across more than 200 countries, making it the social media app with the fastest growth.
Governments all across the world have resisted the contentious platform. Due to allegedly objectionable content, Indonesia put a week-long prohibition on the app in 2018.
The app was also prohibited by the Indian government in 2020 as a result of the nation's geopolitical confrontation with China. Former President Donald Trump made an attempt to outlaw TikTok while raising national security issues.
