One of China’s most famous apps will be able to spy on its users. After the TikTok case, which was banned by several Western governments and European institutions, it was e-commerce giant Pinduoduo that raised concerns about data security.
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Yet another case of spy apps?
The alarm was raised by US broadcaster CNN, who spoke with half a dozen cybersecurity teams from Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as many former and current Pinduoduo employees. What would the Chinese app do? According to experts, Pinduoduo can bypass the security systems of users’ smartphones to monitor activities in other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings. But also spy on user activity on competing apps, possibly to increase sales.
There’s more. For analysts, the application is difficult to uninstall once installed. According to the investigations initiated by the US broadcaster upon a notice, Pinduoduo would take privacy and data security breaches to a higher level than other applications. How is this possible? According to the experts interviewed, the presence of malware exploiting vulnerabilities in Android operating systems was detected in the Pinduoduo application. Malware is any software developed to steal data or interfere with computer systems and mobile devices.
Now attention can also focus on the twin application of Pinduoduo, which is available in the international market. It’s about Temu and currently tops the download charts in the US, but is spreading quickly in other countries. Both Pinduoduo and Temu are owned by the Nasdaq-listed Chinese multinational PDD.
As with TikTok, there are fears that Pinduoduo will hand over the data to the Chinese government. Obviously the app denies any speculation about his account, but meanwhile, Google wanted to hide. Last March, the American giant disabled the ability to download the Chinese app from its store, citing security concerns stemming from the discovery of malware.
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China’s e-commerce app could be a new geopolitical battleground. Evidence of malware in Pinduoduo’s app comes amid growing tensions between the US and China over Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, which US lawmakers view as a threat to national security.
What is Pinduoduo
With a user base that represents three-quarters of China’s online population and three times the market capitalization of eBay, Pinduoduo wasn’t always an online shopping giant. When the app was founded in Shanghai in 2015 by former Google employee Colin Huang, it faced off against two Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com to gain a foothold in the industry.
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In a short time, he managed to catch two rival giants. The key to its success was actually offering deep discounts on purchase orders from groups of friends and family and focusing on low-income rural areas. Pinduoduo actually changed the face of rural China. Internet-based retailing of agricultural and manufactured goods has addressed two interrelated issues: rural revitalization and poverty alleviation of the country.
But Pinduoduo’s success was criticized following the death of one employee and the suicide of another employee. These two cases raised questions about long working hours for employees, leading to an investigation by the Working Conditions Antitrust Regulator.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
