The TikTok storm shows no sign of abating, despite the recent news that the Trump administration will allow Oracle and Walmart to partner the social network in the USA.
Despite this, there appears to be a drive towards using VPNs to avoid any ban on the social network. It’s not clear if this originates with unscrupulous VPN providers, TikTok itself, or simply people who don’t really understand the risk that installing TikTok on a smartphone delivers.
This tweet perhaps puts it best:
I hear people are attempting to use VPN to avoid the #tiktokban
That's like building an underground tunnel to Beijing from your home and sending a personal invite to the Chinese surveillance apparatus to come and take detailed notes.
— Christian Cawley (@thegadgetmonkey) September 20, 2020
The various studies into TikTok and the many online commentaries into its complete disregard for the privacy of young people should be enough to warn interested parties away. But even if it does not, using TikTok through a VPN is about as useful as storing milk in a sieve.