[CNN 10]August 26, 2020_TikTok And The U.S. Government

August 26, 2020_TikTok And The U.S. Government 

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CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Can a nation make a major political change without the world knowing for sure what happened? That`s the subject of

our first report on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz. Thank you for watching. North Korea is a secretive, communist country. It`s government controls the

media so there`s no free press there and the news that is reported is only what the government allows. But according to South Korean intelligence,

Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un is increasing in power. She now appears to be in charge of one of the most important

political organizations in North Korea. This group keeps close tabs on the ruling party`s 3 million members to make sure they`re loyal enough to the

government.

It also determines political jobs, keeps the communist party organized and indoctrinates North Koreans with the government`s ideals. If Kim Yo-Jong

is now in charge of the country`s organization and guidance department, it would make her the second most powerful person in the country. But this

has also raised questions about her brother`s health. Kim Jong-Un reportedly has an unhealthy lifestyle. He said to be a heavy smoker. He

usually keeps a grueling schedule with a lot of public appearances but he`s sporadically disappeared from the public eye earlier this year without an

official explanation. Though again, that`s not unusual in North Korean media.

In the United States, there`s a controversy right now over a possible government ban on TikTok. The Trump Administration says the Chinese video

sharing application collects huge amounts of data from its users. Their internet searches, wherever they`ve gone with their phones and the U.S. has

given TikTok`s owner until September 20th to fix the problem or possibly sell its U.S. services to a U.S. company. TikTok is suing. It says the

Trump Administration didn`t give the company a fair chance to defend itself and that the upcoming ban is politically motivated against China. TikTok

has been banned in India over it`s data collection practices but the company still has an estimated 800 million monthly users around the world

including 100 million in the U.S. alone. CNN 10 contributor Chris James has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS JAMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: TikTok`s future is uncertain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have urged that TikTok be closed down in America.

JAMES: The video sharing app and the Chinese company that introduced it to the world are in President Trump`s crosshairs.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When we want no security problems with China. It`s got to be an American company. It`s got to be American security.

It`s got to be owned here.

JAMES: And many other politicians and experts agree that the data TikTok collects on its American users is unsafe in the hands of its Chinese parent

company, ByteDance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is owned by a Chinese company that includes Chinese communist party members in leadership and it is required under Chinese law

to share user data with Beijing.

JAMES: But are these security concerns a real threat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Essentially, the concern boils down to do you want an app installed on your phone. If you believe that that app might ultimately

be influenced by a foreign government that is directly competing with the U.S. economically.

JAMES: TikTok has been downloaded over 2 billion times across the world. For years, it`s been beloved by teens, but the COVID-19 pandemic has helped

the app find new older audiences as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s really designed for virility (ph) not for network (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately (ph), I believe that a lot of its popularity comes from like the culture of creativity and self-expression that it was

able to -- to (inaudible) dancing, lip syncing, (inaudible) all sorts of (inaudible).

JAMES: And it`s central feature, the For You page which uses an algorithm to curate an endless scroll of videos selected just for you. To power it,

TikTok like any other social media app, collects a certain amount of data on its users. According to it`s privacy policy, this data informs TikTok`s

algorithms among other things. Facebook collects similar information but where that data is physically stored makes all the difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s important to understand that all technology companies ultimately answer to governments of the countries in which they

exist, where they`re based and where they operate. So the same way that Facebook ultimately has to answer the U.S. government, Congress, for

example, can demand that Mark Zuckerberg testify. The same applies in China except with one major difference. China`s a far less free country

and has far less protection of people`s rights and people`s personal information from the government. So the issue isn`t whether right now

TikTok`s feeding information to the Chinese government.

It`s that they potentially could be doing so if the government so wanted. Congress, the president, the government really needs to create a framework

in dealing with this kind of problem going forward. There are going to be apps that are (inaudible) come from places that aren`t the friendliest to

the United States. That`s reality. We need a framework for how to deal with those situations. Not to deal with them one by one after 10`s of

millions of people already have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. What is the main ingredient in chalkboard chalk? Plaster of paris, sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, or graphite. Yep,

we`re talking about Crayola or Hagoromo, we`re talking about chalk made with calcium carbonate.

In an era of virtual learning and internet everything, you might be wondering why we`re talking about chalk at all. I have this chalkboard to

do list at home but only because I`m old school. It turns out not only do a number of professors still use chalk, many of them have a favorite type.

It runs about $20 a box. Can this be chalked up to personal preference?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The legend around this chalk is that it`s impossible to write a false theorem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I assume it`s special ingredients was angel tears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mathematicians from all the top schools, very frequently use it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a cult favorite.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As soon as I used it, I was a convert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chalk is one of the best kept secrets in the math world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s the Rolls Royce of chalk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hagaromo is a brand of Japanese chalk. The way it flows on a board is a bit hard to describe in words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s really hard to judge. You only get it from Japan. You need a Japanese person to bring it back for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I discovered it when I went to visit the University of Tokyo and one of the professors there said to me, you know we have better

chalk than you do in the states and I said, oh go on. Chalk is chalk. And so I tried it out and I was surprised to find that he was right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tried it. I thought it was phenomenal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s the densest. It erases the cleanest. It leaves the nicest line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You use bad chalk, often you have to press really hard for anyone to see what you`re writing. So using Hagoromo on a good

board, it doesn`t really feel like you`re working hard to write.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I`m teaching, I get a feeling of energy, confidence and the chalk absolutely helps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slowly the math world has become aware of this and it became a bit of a -- a fad in some circles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like maybe, four years ago the word came out that the company was going out of business. I sort of jokingly refer to it

as a chalk apocalypse. So I immediately started hoarding up as much as I could.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ordered a few boxes of Hagoromo and kept in my office and used it very sparingly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I should have bought more but I have friends that bought boxes and boxes and boxes of the stuff. They might very well be set

for the rest of their career.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve got like 1,500 sticks. That`s a lot of days, four sticks a day. I think I`m going to make it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The original Hagoromo chalk is slowly disappearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few years ago, a Korean company bought their formulas and did the best job of faithfully reproducing it in Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was mixed emotions. I was happy to know it was still being made but I was a little disappointed but I was less cleaver

than I thought I was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In many ways, mathematics is like craftsmanship. In some ways it`s like artistry. In some ways, it`s like science. But

there`s a real high craft side to giving a beautiful lecture on a blackboard. Mathematicians admire this in each other and like to use the

best tools for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s an incredible value to this but the value is in using it up. Not hoarding it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Rocko Figuretti (ph) is a golfer in West Virginia. He`s been playing for about a year and he just hit his first hole in one. The

kicker, Rocko (ph) four.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get there. Get there. Get there. Get in the hole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: It did. An eagle on a par 3 course. The shot caught on camera went viral and now it`s the shot heard around the world. Rocko`s (ph) father

says proud would be an understatement. He told affiliate WTOV that though the boy is right handed. He swings with a left handed grip. They don`t

plan to change that. Why would they? The young "iron man" is already up to "par" in an elite "club". Wonder if he won a prize like a new "caddy".

The "hole" truth is that`d be a "fair" way to make the grade when your goal is straight "PGA`s". Whew. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. Akron Fairgrove

Junior-Senior High School, that`s fun to say, Akron Fairgrove Junior-Senior High School, it`s in Fairgrove, Michigan. Thank you for making CNN 10 part

of your day.

END