From posting photos and videos to tracking physical activity, apps can do almost anything, but while they may seem like harmless fun, they may also pose a threat to personal data and national security. This paper compares the different responses of the United States, Canada and Germany to data risks posed by popular apps such as FaceApp, Facebook, Strava, TikTok and ToTok. These apps and many others store troves of personal data that can be hacked and misused, putting users (and the countries in which they live) at risk.
Recent Publications
A Congressional Trade Office could resolve all this tariff confusion
Susan Ariel Aaronson Congress shares responsibility with the president for trade policy, yet Congress lacks the infrastructure and expertise to set objectives and monitor the administration’s actions. Moreover, because President Trump sees tariffs as his Swiss Army...
Do Chatbot Developers Act Responsibly toward their Users?
Susan Ariel Aaronson and Michael Moreno Please note this paper is forthcoming, to be published by the Balsillie School in February 2026. This study evaluates whether leading AI developers—OpenAI, Google, xAI, and DeepSeek—act responsibly toward users when building...
AI and Trade: The WTO’s Thoughtful but Incomplete Assessment
When the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided in 2024 to produce a report on the trade implications of artificial intelligence (AI), it set out to answer two key questions: How can the WTO help ensure that the benefits of AI are widespread? And, how can the...