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 over “repeated misrepresentations”. Its handling of US data,
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Tuesday followed a request from Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and Republican Marco Rubio buzzfeed The report said the short video app allowed TikTok engineers and officials in China to repeatedly access private data of US users. Senators said such access raised questions Tiktok claims to MPs 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 immediately on this matter,” the senators wrote. FTC Chair Leena Khan,
TIC Toc Told 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 zhe chev told senators that it is working with Oracle Corp. “on new advanced data protection controls, which we expect to finalize in the near future.”
of senators Letter quoted A buzzfeed News about leaked internal recordings, which said ByteDance’s China-based employees had “very little” access to US data.
TikTok’s letter on Thursday said it has not misled Congress about its data and security controls and practices.
Last month, TikTok said that it has Completed migrating information of its US users to Oracle’s servers But it was still using US and Singapore data center for backup.
It’s been almost two years since the US National Security Panel Parent company ByteDance ordered to sell TikTok Because of fears that US user data could be passed on to the Communist government of China.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in the worldWith over 1 billion active users globally, and counts the United States as its largest market.