It was long suspected, but now it's official: the social media app TikTok is spying on its users. Three US journalists who reported critically on the social network are affected.
With more than 30 million users, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. It has now come to light that employees of the network had access to IP addresses and other private data of some users. Specifically, it concerns research sources of US journalists. The parent company ByteDance has since admitted to the allegations.
What data is involved?
According to research by Forbes magazine, ByteDance employees used the IP address of the journalists with which the media professionals had registered on TikTok. This allowed the company to track their current location at any time. Three Forbes journalists who had previously worked for the online magazine Buzzfeed are affected. The magazine published voice recordings in the fall that confirmed TikTok's access to US users' data. In addition, log files were retrieved that could be used to verify contact between TikTok employees and journalists.
Scandal with international implications
The espionage incident is particularly controversial because TikTok has close ties to the Chinese dictatorship. The US Department of Justice even described ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming as a mouthpiece of the Communist Party due to his ties to the Chinese state leadership. The company had repeatedly emphasized that it would respect US data protection laws. However, the current incident raises questions about TikTok's business model and trustworthiness.
ByteDance regrets incidents
An internal investigation has now brought the entire background to the scandal to light. According to Forbes, 15 ByteDance employees work for Chinese state propaganda. Furthermore, the company had not only accessed the journalists' data, but also the data of their contacts, according to the report. ByteDance itself reacted promptly. "I am disappointed. The misconduct of certain individuals was an egregious abuse of power and not in line with our policies," said TikTok spokesperson Hilary McQuaide in a statement. The employee responsible for the surveillance measures, Chris Lepitak, was immediately dismissed. The senior manager to whom Lepitak reported also resigned. The incident significantly weakens the platform's already controversial position in the USA. Civil servants in 19 US states are already prohibited from installing TikTok on their work cell phones.
