The data collection ‘arms race’

Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok — owned by Beijing-based ByteDance — amid much handwringing over the data the app collects. And while TikTok’s fate may ultimately be decided by the obscure Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, it seemed worth asking: Why is it so important to keep data collection domestic? There are certainly plenty of American apps collecting information on their users, too. We’ll talk about that and more on this week’s Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus: contact tracing, supply shockwaves and alpacas.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today:

• “What’s CFIUS and what does it have to do with TikTok?” from Marketplace
• “TikTok User Data: What Does the App Collect and Why Are U.S. Authorities Concerned?” from The Wall Street Journal
• “For the unemployed, rising grocery prices strain budgets even more” from the Washington Post
• “44% of Americans fear they won’t be able to afford food, poll finds” from Marketplace
• “Why coronavirus contact-tracing apps aren’t yet the ‘game changer’ authorities hoped they’d be” from CNBC
• “Apple and Google’s ambitious COVID-19 contact-tracing tech can help contain the pandemic if used widely. But so far only 3 states have agreed — and none has started to use it.” from Insider
• “Now that half of Oklahoma is officially Indian land, oil industry could face new costs and environmental hurdles” from the Washington Post
• “Dakota Access pipeline can keep running amid legal fight” from Reuters
• “A sexist troll attacked Sarah Silverman. She responded by helping him with his problems.” from the Washington Post
• Finally, some FAQs about alpacas