American Military News
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TikTok, the popular video-sharing app operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, admitted last week that its Chinese employees can access U.S. user data.
In a letter addressed to several U.S. Senators on Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew decried recent reporting by Buzzfeed that Chinese TikTok employees described having access to U.S. user data. The TikTok CEO said Buzzfeedâs reporting âincluded allegations and insinuations that are incorrect and are not supported by factsâ but still admitted that TikTok employees in China could access U.S. user data in some instances.
Chew described TikTokâs efforts to store all U.S. user data in a U.S.-based cloud storage service, but when asked if TikTok employees in China currently have, or in the past had access to U.S. user data, Chew said, âEmployees outside the U.S., including China-based employees, can have access to TikTok U.S. user data subject to a series of robust cybersecurity controls and authorization approval protocols overseen by our U.S.-based security team.â