TikTok responds to allegations of unsecured user data

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TikTok has denied that touchy user records turned into accessible to personnel in China. TikTok’s CEO strongly denied information of alleged mishandling of touchy US user facts, responding to several questions from US senators approximately who has access to the statistics and the chinese language government’s manipulate over TikTok.

Article published with the aid of BuzzFeed claimed that a TikTok assembly stated that employees in China had complete access to touchy user facts.

In response to the object, nine US senators sent TikTok a letter requesting answers, prompting TikTok’s CEO to provide a complete clarification.

manage letter

nine senators sent TikTok letter of situation due to allegations that personnel in China had get admission to to touchy consumer information. The letter requested eleven particular questions about consumer statistics, along with whether TikTok had ever shared sensitive records with the chinese authorities.

The letter to TikTok said:

“the consequences of these findings are apparent, however not unexpected. Instead, they truely affirm what lawmakers have lengthy suspected approximately TikTok…”

TikTok’s responses were in reaction to this letter.

Leaking TikTok out of context

TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi chunk, wrote a response to the senators, who were later shared as a PDF at the big apple instances.

of their response, the CEO stated that TikTok is already in compliance with the protection of consumer records in the US and has finished all steps to fasten down this statistics together with two huge US businesses.

together with Oracle and Booz Allen, the security initiative they are operating on is referred to as venture Texas.

in step with the government director, the personnel operating on the Texas undertaking are operating on exclusive components of the project and aren’t aware about the entire scope of the task.

He claimed that the individuals who were undercover were employees who were no longer familiar with other parts of the assignment and were therefore blind to the rules already in region to defend statistics.

in step with the CEO of TikTok:

“some of the humans running on these initiatives don’t see the big picture, they paintings on the assignment without knowing that it is a single step in a much large task or a check to validate an assumption.

this is vital context for the tapes leaked to BuzzFeed, and one thing their reporting got right: The meetings served task Texas’ aim of preventing this access to information.”

The letter also exhibits that TikTok has labored confidentially with the us authorities to secure the statistics in a way that maintains it totally in the US with strict safeguards on who has get admission to.

He endured:

“…circumstances now require that we proportion a number of this statistics with the general public to remedy mistakes and misconceptions within the article and some ongoing worries associated with different components of our commercial enterprise.

… As we these days reported, we now store 100% folks user facts within the Oracle cloud surroundings via default and are running with Oracle on new, advanced records protection controls that we hope to finalize in the close to destiny.”

get right of entry to to the statistics of TikTok employees in China

opposite to the sensational information, TikTok already has strict rules concerning get admission to to consumer facts, that is monitored by using a security crew based totally within the america.

concerning access to facts by employees in China:

“employees out of doors the us, including the ones in China, may have get admission to to US TikTok user data, that is challenge to a set of sturdy cybersecurity controls and authorization protocols overseen by using our US-based security team.

further, TikTok has an internal facts classification machine and approval technique in region that assigns access tiers primarily based on records category and requires approvals for
get right of entry to to user information inside the US.

the level of approval required is based on the sensitivity of the facts consistent with the type gadget.’

The CEO also strongly denied that the chinese language authorities has any manage or get entry to to user facts of america or TikTok itself.

He wrote:

“…Employees of Beijing Douyin facts carrier constrained have restricted get right of entry to to the usa consumer database.

The takeover of one% of Beijing Douyin statistics carrier limited with the aid of a chinese language country-owned enterprise become required to collect a information license in China for numerous China-primarily based content material apps consisting of Douyin and Toutiao.

The chinese language authorities has no right, directly or indirectly, to employ board contributors or otherwise have special rights with appreciate to any ByteDance entity within the chain of possession or manipulate of the TikTok entity.”

TikTok continues to be to be had within the app stores

As of the guide of this text, TikTok continues to be to be had for down load from the respective Google and Apple app shops, indicating that those businesses are happy that TikTok does now not violate the privateness phrases that govern all apps in their app shops.

In an earlier announcement, TikTok introduced that it’s far working with Oracle to defend TikTok information within the US to ensure that one hundred% of consumer visitors is routed thru Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. It also states that the project to lock down consumer information is continuing.