ANTI-CRIME COLLAB
OFFICIALS of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group on Wednesday met with representatives of TikTok Southeast Asia bureau to discuss how can the giant China-owned social media platform can help authorities fight cybercrime in the country.
The meeting focused on addressing strategic issues and operational concerns related to TikTok and possible collaboration between the police force and TikTok to effectively tackle challenges from cybercrime syndicates, said PNP-ACG Officer-in-Charge Colonel Rommel S. Batangan.
“We aim for our law enforcement partners to have a clear understanding of our operating procedures and legal requirements, and proactively engage with us to raise issues, concerns or emerging threats that could impact user or community safety on our platform,” said Elisabeth Potuijt, the TikTok Southeast Asia Law Enforcement Outreach Manager during the meeting.
TikTok also expressed its commitment to supporting the PNP-ACG by offering training sessions for its investigation teams, Col. Batangan said.
“TikTok is one of the most widely used social media platforms today. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have also exploited this platform for scamming activities,“ the official added.
“This collaboration with TikTok will significantly enhance and expedite our cybercrime investigation efforts, reinforcing our commitment to creating a safer and more secure cyberspace for everyone,” Col. Batangan likewise said.
TikTok is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company Bytedance. It hosts user-submitted videos which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes and can be accessed with a smart phone app or the web.
According to a Wikipedia article, since its launch, it has become one of the world’s most popular social media platforms with more than two billion subscribers in 2020 alone. However, it has been involved in a number of major issues such as data privacy violation, misinformation, offensive content and its role during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A number of countries have fined, banned or attempted to restrict TikTok to protect children or out of national security concerns over possible user data collection by China, the same article said.
