Social media giant TikTok may be forced out of the US market, after the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill aimed at tackling perceived customer data concerns.
The bill stipulates that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would be required to sell its controlling stake in TikTok within six months, or else the app will be blocked in the US.
While the bill still must secure approval in the Senate, if it does, US President Joe Biden has promised to sign it.
The legislation has been introduced following concerns about how the platform uses customer data, with ByteDance being beholden to a national security law that requires Chinese companies to share their data with the government on request.
TikTok has denied these accusations, with Chief Executive, Shou Zi Chew, promising that customers’ data is secure and stating that the company is “free from outside manipulation.”
So, how important is data security and privacy to customers?
Customers Value Their Data
With the technological advancements that have made it easier to collect different types of customer data, and the ability of AI-powered tools to manipulate data in new – and potentially dangerous – ways, customers are becoming more wary and protective of their data.
A KPMG study on corporate data responsibility revealed that 86% of US adults consider data privacy to be a growing concern, with 68% worried about the amount of data being collected by businesses.
The IAPP – a global information privacy community – recently conducted its own research across 19 countries, which highlighted that customers were ready to turn these concerns into action.
The report emphasized the need for transparency, with 64% of consumers admitting to being more trusting of companies that provide clear information about their privacy policies.
The reverse of this is also true. Over 80% of customers who had previously done business with a company that had subsequently suffered a data breech, said that they were likely to stop doing business with the company in the future.
In reflecting on the findings of the report, Müge Fazlioglu – a Principal Researcher of Privacy Law and Policy at the IAPP – commented:
“Studies such as these challenge the conventional wisdom that has long assumed people don’t care about their privacy. At some point, most of us have probably heard privacy be declared dead or dying.
Yet, the argument that most people are agnostic, or worse, apathetic, about their privacy is on weak footing.
Providing customers with assurances that their data is being protected has become vital to fostering trust and enhancing the overall CX – and CCaaS providers are taking note.
Earlier this year, Zoom announced two new capabilities for its CCaaS platform, aimed at improving contact center data privacy.
Firstly, Customer Managed Key (CMK) support enables administrators to specify which types of contact center data are encrypted, providing better control over cross-channel data such as recordings, transcripts, and voicemails.
