The chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee and top Republican has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate social media app TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance, because of “repeated misrepresentations” on the handling of US data.
The request on Tuesday by Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and Republican Marco Rubio, followed a BuzzFeed report that the short video app is allowed. TIC Toc Engineers and officials in China to repeatedly access private data of US users. The senators said such access called into question the claims of TikTok’s lawmakers and users that the data was secure.
“In light of TikTok’s repeated misrepresentations about its data security, data processing and corporate governance practices, we urge you to act on this matter immediately,” wrote FTC Chair Leena Khan.
TikTok said on Tuesday that access to data is “subject to a series of robust controls, security measures such as encryption for certain data, and authorization approval protocols overseen by our US-based leadership/security team.”
The company responded to the senators’ letter, saying, “TikTok has never shared US user data with the Chinese government, nor will we when asked.”
The FTC confirmed that it had received the letter but declined to comment further.
Last week, TikTok told US senators that it was working on a final agreement with the Biden administration that would “fully protect user data and US national security interests.”
TikTok acknowledged in a letter on Thursday that China-based employees “may access TikTok US user data subject to a series of robust cybersecurity controls and authorization approval protocols overseen by our US-based security team.”
TikTok chief executive Shaw Zi Chew tells senators that he is working with Oracle “On new advanced data protection controls that we expect to be finalized in the near future.”
of senators Letter ByteDance’s China-based employees had “very little” access to US data, citing Buzzfeed news about the leaked internal recordings.
TikTok’s letter on Thursday said the hit did not mislead Congress about its data and security controls and practices.
Last month, TikTok said it had completed moving its US users’ information to Oracle’s servers, but it is still using US and Singapore data centers for backup.
It’s been nearly two years since a US national security panel ordered parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed on to China’s communist government.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with over 1 billion active users globally, and counts the United States as its largest market.
© Thomson Reuters 2022