TikTok, the viral video-sharing app owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), said that some employees outside the US can access information from US users, stoking further criticism from US lawmakers who have raised alarms about the social network’s data-sharing practices.
The company’s comment came in a letter to nine US senators who accused TikTok and its parent of monitoring US citizens and demanded answers on what is 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?
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 Chew Shou Zi (周受資) said in letter dated Thursday obtained by Bloomberg News.
Photo: Reuters
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 is working with the US government on strengthening data security about that information — particularly anything defined as “protected” by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.
The new effort, called “Project Texas,” includes physically storing US information in data centers on US servers owned by software giant Oracle Corp.
TikTok is also shifting its platform to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure, which means the app and the algorithm would be accessed and deployed for US users from domestic data centers.
“TikTok’s response confirms our fears about the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] influence in the company were well founded,” US Senator Marsha Blackburn told Bloomberg on Friday.
“The Chinese-run company should have come clean from the start, but it attempted to shroud its work in secrecy. Americans need to know if they are on TikTok, communist China has their information,” Blackburn said.
Several senators in a letter dated Monday cited a report in BuzzFeed News that said TikTok’s US consumer data were accessed by company engineers in China.
The lawmakers said in the letter that TikTok and its parent “are using their access to a treasure trove of US consumer data to surveil Americans.”
The New York Times reported earlier on TikTok’s response.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS