TikTok, the viral video-sharing app owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., said certain employees outside the U.S. can access information from American users, stoking further criticism from lawmakers who have raised alarms about the social network’s data-sharing practices.
The company’s admission came in a letter to nine U.S. senators who accused TikTok and its parent of monitoring U.S. citizens and demanded answers on what’s becoming a familiar line of questioning for the company: Do China-based employees have access to U.S. 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 U.S. 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.