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TikTok Data Danger: ByteDance Fesses Up

A person using TikTok.
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According to CNN, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, revealed employees misused user information after an external investigation. The short-form video content app is the target of significant controversy surrounding its data collection practices. The investigation led to the termination of four employees who “improperly accessed” two journalists’ personal data through the platform. Here’s everything you need to know about the TikTok data investigation. 

TikTok can access your sensitive personal data through the platform. 

The employees managed to obtain the data of journalists, including their IP addresses, from the Financial Times and Buzzfeed. In an internal email, TikTok CEO Shou Chew called the situation “unacceptable” and promptly terminated the four employees. 

Though beloved by Gen Z, the app poses international data security risks for its potential ties to the Chinese government. Forbes reports an investigation by cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0 revealed that the app collects excessive user data. The security risks stem from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forcing private companies to share data.

In 2019 the CIA accused Chinese tech company Huawei of receiving funding from China’s National Security Commission. However, the company denied these allegations. Although, in July 2022, the FBI killed a project using Huawei equipment to build a garden in Washington, DC. The equipment, which the Chinese government barred the US from inspecting, could steal sensitive data from the nearby US Capitol.

TikTok has become a political nightmare.

There is bipartisan support for banning TikTok in the United States due to growing concerns over international data security. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently announced bipartisan legislation to ban the app. Additionally, several states have already prohibited officials from downloading TikTok on government-issued devices. And FBI Director Christopher Wray said the app “can be used for traditional espionage operations.”

According to Mashable, in 2019, TikTok claimed all data collected in the US doesn’t get sent to China. However, these latest reports reveal that claim was false. Additionally, Buzzfeed reports ByteDance previously used the now-defunct TopBuzz to push pro-CCP propaganda in the US. Emily Baker-White, who wrote the article, is the Buzzfeed reporter at the center of the TikTok data investigation.

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