Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China

BuzzFeed ^ | June 17, 2022 | Emily Baker-White

[American Number 181269513]

For years, TikTok has responded to data privacy concerns by promising that information gathered about users in the United States is stored in the United States, rather than China, where ByteDance, the video platform's parent company, is located. But according to leaked audio from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings, China-based employees of ByteDance have repeatedly accessed nonpublic data about US TikTok users — exactly the type of behavior that inspired former president Donald Trump to threaten to ban the app in the United States.

The recordings, which were reviewed by BuzzFeed News, contain 14 statements from nine different TikTok employees indicating that engineers in China had access to US data between September 2021 and January 2022, at the very least. Despite a TikTok executive’s sworn testimony in an October 2021 Senate hearing that a “world-renowned, US-based security team” decides who gets access to this data, nine statements by eight different employees describe situations where US employees had to turn to their colleagues in China to determine how US user data was flowing. US staff did not have permission or knowledge of how to access the data on their own, according to the tapes.

“Everything is seen in China,” said a member of TikTok’s Trust and Safety department in a September 2021 meeting. In another September meeting, a director referred to one Beijing-based engineer as a “Master Admin” who “has access to everything.” (While many employees introduced themselves by name and title in the recordings, BuzzFeed News is not naming anyone to protect their privacy.)

[American Number 181269513]

Trump was right on this. TikTok is an overt and covert spying app. Anyone using it has their information collected in China. Anyone using it has their device compromised and all the information on that device can be exploited and stored in China.

[BobL]

No one is forced to use Tic Tock, just as no one is forced to allow their kid to have a smart phone before the kid is 18.

[upchuck]

I am not now nor have I ever been a TicTok user. Guess I’m too old for it. But if I was, this disclosure would be enough for me to disable my account and turn my back on TicTok forever.

[Chode]

do I really have to say it???

[xp38]

Tik Tok is tne number 1 app in the world right now. Near as I can tell it’s a video version of twitter. One is limited to short videos. Because of this Youtube has responded with a version called youtube shorts.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Why would you use it, knowing it is owned by China?

[roving]

What exactly does China do with the info that is so dangerous?

What do they do that our government doesn’t already do to our own citizens?

[G Larry]

This has been going on since FB launched.

We were warned of bots and worms being dropped on our hard drives, and completely transparent.

You could be hosting anything and never know it, or at least be a weigh station for illicit traffic.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Tik Tok is Chinese psy ops.

[Noumenon]

What’s on tiktok besides mindless trash?

[antidemoncrat]

“Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China”

Color me surprised. Just like Suckaburg using the fortune his users gave him to use his lame “Social Media” sites to help Democrats steal a Presidential election.

[StormEye]

"For years, TikTok has responded to data privacy concerns by promising that information gathered about users in the United States is stored in the United States, ..."

LOL! You Americans are so naive.