Facebook is currently stealing Aussie data - but let's all worry about TikTok

For years, I’ve heard constant warnings about the dangers of TikTok. People have told me, “They’re stealing our data,” “It’s unsafe,” and “China’s behind it.” Yet, the platform still stands, unscathed by any major breaches that would validate such fears.

Meanwhile, Facebook – a platform we’ve all trusted for over a decade – has repeatedly failed to protect our personal information. If there's a data security villain in this story, Facebook is leading the charge, not TikTok.

Take a moment to consider Facebook’s history. In 2014, the Cambridge Analytica scandal shook the world as personal data was harvested without consent. In 2019, Facebook was hit with two breaches: one exposing 600 million passwords, and another exposing 540 million records on a public server, followed by 419 million more leaking out later that year. Fast forward to 2021, and another half a billion users had their personal information exposed, including their names, birthdays, phone numbers, and locations.

Yet, despite all this, some will still leap to Facebook's defence while branding TikTok as the enemy. TikTok, to my knowledge, hasn’t had a breach of this magnitude – or any breach for that matter.

This entire narrative around TikTok being a threat feels misguided, especially as Facebook continues to mishandle data without facing the same level of scrutiny.

The misinformation surrounding TikTok has no basis, and I’ve been a strong advocate for the platform for five years. It’s a tool for connection, creativity, and marketing, and it should be embraced, not vilified without cause.

Meanwhile, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) has rolled out its own generative AI chatbot across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

It was clear from the start that Meta would use public data to train its AI. Although they promised not to use private messages, they do scrape data from all public posts. And while European users have been given the option to opt out of this data scraping,

Australians have not been afforded the same protection.

Meta’s global privacy director, Melinda Claybaugh, admitted under questioning that unless Australians have consciously set their public posts to private since 2007, Meta has been scraping their data. Public photos, texts, and posts from Facebook and Instagram are all being collected to train Meta’s AI.

The only way Australians can avoid this is by making their accounts private – and this isn’t even an option for accounts under 18 years old.

This raises serious concerns about data privacy in Australia, and the imbalance of protection between regions like the EU and our own country.

Why are Australian users treated as second-class when it comes to opting out of data scraping?

Thankfully, Australia is beginning to take action. As of 5 September, the government has introduced new initiatives to make AI usage safer. This includes a Voluntary AI Safety Standard to guide businesses using high-risk AI, as well as a Proposals Paper that outlines mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings.

These are essential steps toward regulating AI and ensuring that both individuals and businesses are protected.

AI has the potential to contribute up to $115 billion to Australia’s economy by 2030. But with that opportunity comes responsibility. We need regulations in place to prevent misuse, particularly by companies like Meta, who have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted with our data.

If anything, it’s platforms like Facebook that should be under the microscope – not TikTok.

Let’s be clear: data security is an issue across all platforms. But when we look at the facts, it’s Facebook, not TikTok, that has repeatedly violated our trust.

So, before jumping on the anti-TikTok bandwagon, we need to reassess where the real danger lies.