– I am very concerned about data security, states the minister. The Chinese-owned app TikTok has been downloaded by around one million users in Norway, and is usually used for innocent fun. In mid-September, Mehl took off. – My goal is to be open and honest in the dialogue with people. I think it is a bonus to be able to show my everyday life as a politician in an interesting way, says Engel Mehl to news. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news – I have a very active relationship with security in all use of digital tools. It is something I can perhaps focus on by using the app, says the Minister of Justice. But several people are critical of the fact that the Minister of Justice is now on TikTok. Associate professor in information security at NTNU, Gaute Bjørklund Wangen, says it is good that she is concerned with digital security. – But the application is, to be completely honest, a data collection tool that forwards information to China, he says. Don’t know who gets access TikTok has passed 2 billion users worldwide. Just over half of the Norwegian population between the ages of 18 and 29 use the app daily, according to a report from Ispos. The app is owned by the Chinese IT company ByteDance. The National Intelligence Act in China allowed the authorities to obtain information from private companies on request. Do you think social media collect too much information about users? No, it is useful for my use. Yes, it’s scary. Don’t know, haven’t thought much about it. Show result Head of section in the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Tobias Judin, says that they do not know much about who gets access to the information you leave in the app. It may therefore happen that information ends up in the hands of Chinese authorities, but it is not certain. Some also believe that the app collects more data about the users than is necessary to deliver the service, according to Judin. – It has also made TikTok a bit controversial lately. news has been in contact with TikTok, but has not succeeded in getting a comment. Criticizes the Minister of Justice: – Very unfortunate Two years ago Professor Christopher Balding revealed that a company with links to China had collected information on millions of people. Including 700 Norwegians. – I take care of the rules I have received from my ministry and from the National Insurance Agency (NSM), says Mehl. NSM works with safety in Norway. They confirm to news that they have not given the minister specific written advice in advance of her use of TikTok. – We have carried out thorough searches in our systems, and there has been no written correspondence between the Ministry of Justice and NSM in this case, says senior adviser Anniken Beyer Fjeld. NSM’s 13 tips for mobile security Activate Touch/Face ID in addition to the PIN code for opening units, so that others do not see your code. Possibly a 6-digit code, preferably with both numbers and letters. Always check that the unit is updated to close known security holes and to gain access to new and improved security functions. Turn on automatic updates. Avoid others being able to read notifications from the locked screen on those apps that have sensitive information, or use a case with a flap that covers the screen. Countering eavesdropping. Be aware of which network you are connected to, and preferably use 4G. EDGE (2G) is more vulnerable than 3G, which is more vulnerable than 4G. Abroad, NSM recommends using messaging services that add encryption. Store a backup copy on your mobile device, preferably in a cloud. Storing data on other mobile units increases the risk that unauthorized persons may gain access. Delete data from mobile, tablet and PC if you lose them. You should be able to delete the contents of your unit if you lose it. For example, through the service to delete content after X number of unsuccessful attempts to enter the PIN code. Well, 4G instead of third-party Wi-Fi. Turn off automatic connection to Wi-Fi, so that you are not connected to an insecure network without noticing it. Avoid using Wi-Fi that does not require a password, such as public free Wi-Fi. Use VPN for all network traffic. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and encrypts the traffic you send and receive via your VPN provider. Be careful when using bluetooth and turn it off when not in use. Be careful not to connect your unit to units you do not trust, and in cars you borrow or rent. Information on the car’s computer can be difficult to delete. Share data via a direct wireless connection. On an iPhone, this would be AirDrop, for example. Remember to deactivate the service immediately after the transfer. Set the setting so that you only allow sharing with units that are in your contact list. Give apps minimal access to microphone, camera and location data. Be careful and restrained in giving apps access to the microphone, camera and location data (GPS). Check the apps’ access regularly, and be especially careful with social media apps. Just install essential apps and well-known and trusted sources. Be particularly critical of apps that ask for personal information and access to data in public clouds. Separation between work and personal life. By mixing private and work-related content and functions on your unit, you increase your vulnerability. Consider using one phone for work and another phone privately. Associate professor Wangen believes that Emilie Enger Mehl’s lack of communication with the insurance governing bodies in advance is problematic. – It is very unfortunate that she does not take a more active step and ask for advice. We are talking about our Minister of Justice, who has a central role in Norway’s digital security, says Wangen, associate professor at NTNU. Will not answer more about TikTok The videos Enger Mehl has posted so far are a Pride video, and two short films from an official visit to The Hague in the Netherlands. – If, for example, she had a secret meeting on the trip to the Netherlands, it can be revealed by location data and then it is no longer secret, he says. Emilie Enger Mehl has been criticized for having TikTok on her mobile phone. She does not wish to make further comments. – The minister has no further comments related to the use of social media and apps, says communications adviser Anders Bortne on behalf of the minister. Shouldn’t be on TikTok Mehl also receives criticism from the leader of the organization Exist! who work for technological freedom of choice. Line Horgen Thorstad believes that politicians must not contribute to strengthening TikTok as an information channel. Line Horgen Thorstad, leader of the organization Exist! who work for technological freedom of choice. Photo: Privat She says the app earns money from your attention and information, and will therefore do everything to keep your attention. The content is therefore often provocative, sensational, false or similar, although it can also just be appealing, says Thorstad. In this way, misinformation can be spread and further divide the political debate. – If the politicians want to use TikTok as an information channel, the politicians must take responsibility for protecting the users’ privacy. Breaches of privacy legislation – We have uncovered major breaches of both consumer legislation and privacy legislation whenever we have looked at apps that collect a lot of data, says Finn Myrstad. He is a professional director at the Consumer Council, and says that you can give technology companies access to extreme amounts of data just by having the app on your mobile. Find Myrstad in the Consumer Council. Photo: John Trygve Tollefsen / John Trygve Tollefsen Myrstad is part of the Personal Protection Commission, which recently issued a new public report on privacy in Norway. Here, the commission concludes that Norway needs a national privacy policy, and presents 140 proposals for how privacy can be improved. The Consumer Council and the Personal Protection Commission believe that the public should have an additional responsibility when it comes to citizens’ privacy. – We should be extra careful with services where you pay with the users’ personal data, and not with real money. – I think it is a responsibility of the authorities, because it is so complex. In the same way that we can now go to the store and know that the food is not full of chemicals and that it is reasonably safe, we want it to be like this with digital services as well. Are you thinking of something? Hi! Would you like to advise me on a possible case? Feel free to contact us by e-mail. Hi! Do you have thoughts after the story you’ve read, or suggestions for other things I should write about? Send me an email!
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