When accessing the data of millions of people, it’s important to reflect on the commitment that brands have to protect this data. Whilst these can be used, consciously or unconsciously, with the best of intentions, they can also have less ethical or clear purposes.

For some years now, the term globalization has been part of our daily lives. It has never made so much sense to think of the world as a global village that connects individuals through the new communication technologies growing exponentially in relation to the size of our planet, as the philosopher Marshall McLuhan advocated.

This global village effect is felt in every corner of the world and in all sectors of society. It is worth highlighting the particular contribution that channels such as social networks make to this effect, since they actively contribute to the proximity between people at the distance of a login.

We already know that there are many advantages, but in recent times we have been living through troubled periods that force us to reflect on their disadvantages.
The latest case to emerge involves the United States of America and China, and involves the social network TikTok. For the more inattentive, we’re talking about a social network that hosts short videos made by its users and which has grown exponentially during the pandemic.

I’m interested in analyzing this case from the perspective of marketing and its consumers, rather than the geopolitical issues that may be present here and which make this reflection a more arduous task. When it comes to the importance and benefits of social media for an organization, it’s important to understand that one of its competitive advantages is the amount of information it has about its consumers.

This information is converted into data that not only gives you the capacity for paid campaigns that generate even more business, but also allows for a level of segmentation that in the past was a mere illusion. After all, the interests, location, age and even consumption patterns of users are known.

Despite having access to this amount of data from millions of people, it is important to reflect on the commitment that brands have to protect this data. While it can be used, consciously or unconsciously, with the best of intentions, it can also be used for less ethical or clear purposes.

One clear example of this inappropriate use of data is the use of data from TikTok, which is Chinese-owned. The tensions between the United States and China have become well known, and there are certainly other authors who have written much more extensively on this subject.

What I want to explore in this analysis is what are the consequences for an organization and for the elements of a society when a disagreement between two countries can lead to the banning and consequent outlawing of a social network?

To fully understand this question, it´s necessary to put it into context. In recent times, all employees of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, and the White House have been banned from using TikTok. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives also voted in favor of a bill allowing President Joe Biden to ban TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps.

The grounds for this decision allegedly relate to the acquisition of user data that is being passed on without their consent to the Chinese government, which, in the eyes of some world leaders, represents a threat to national security.

This information, more than just a video, can capture and transmit other information that to the untrained eye would be of little relevance, but to the detail-oriented, the information could be extremely important.

The core of the issue is consent, which as we all know must be expressed, and its failure to give it makes the use of data for any purpose unlawful. This decision, in addition to canceling citizens’ rights to access TikTok, also has its ramifications for organizations.

For one thing, this social network has more than a billion monthly active users in more than 150 countries. The advertising that can arise in this dimension is vital for some brands that are betting on this channel as a source of competitive advantage.

Some of the content that is shared includes videos of a playful nature with no apparent reason for their creation, as well as content about social solidarity, respect for human dignity and helping others, some of which is quite moving. A touching example is the story of a writer named Lloyd Devereux Richards, who more than a decade ago released a book that failed to achieve the necessary sales. His daughter, never trying to help him, published a video about her father’s story.

We can try to deny it, but the reality is that the world as we know it no longer exists without these platforms. Will other manifestations of interest continue to emerge that call into question the world as we know it? Do we need to rethink the trade-off between the benefits of social media and our security, which is also essential to our survival? Would the US be so outraged if the owner of TikTok was from a country other than China?

These questions may be answered in the near future, perhaps like another episode of this acclaimed series about living in a contemporary world populated by technology, information and speed. Let’s wait impatiently for the next episode!