TikTok Confirms Some China-Based Employees Can Access US User Data

TikTok, the viral video-sharing app owned by China's ByteDance, said certain employees outside the US can access information from American users, stoking further criticism from lawmakers who have raised alarms about the social network's data-sharing practices. From a report: The company's admission came in a letter to nine US senators who accused TikTok and its parent of monitoring US citizens and demanded answers on what's becoming a familiar line of questioning for the company: Do China-based employees have access to US users' data? What role do those employees play in shaping TikTok's algorithm? Is any of that information shared with the Chinese government? Currently, China-based employees who clear a number of internal security protocols can access certain information on TikTok's US users, including public videos and comments, TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew said in the June 30 letter obtained by Bloomberg News. None of that information is shared with the Chinese government, and it is subject to "robust cybersecurity controls," he said. The social network said it's working with the US government on strengthening data security around that information -- particularly anything defined as "protected" by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS.

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