TikTok acknowledges that employees in China can access user data from Europe, putting pressure on the business to amend its privacy policies.
Tiktok Staff in China's Access to European Users' Data
There is no longer any doubt that TikTok employees in China have access to Europeans data. This week, the firm revealed intentions to alter its privacy policy to expressly include China as one of the places where workers may access data from European Union customers, such as location data that users want to disclose.
TikTok defended its privacy policy, claiming that it was based on a demonstrated necessity to execute their work. Authorities throughout the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have expressed worry that data may be given to the Chinese government.
Elaine Fox explained that "we allow certain employees within our corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States remote access to TikTok European user data."
Fox, Tiktok's head of privacy for Europe, said in a statement on Wednesday that a worldwide team assisted in maintaining a consistent, engaging, and safe user experience.
According to a Wired story, TikTok's policy change coincides with a year-long inquiry by Ireland's Data Protection Commission examining its data-transfer rules under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.
"Our efforts are centered on limiting the number of employees with access to European user data, minimizing data flows outside of the region, and storing European user data locally," she added.
She also said the approach was subject to a series of robust security controls and approval protocols and methods recognized under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
Also Read: Tiktok Denies Data Breach Following Hackers Claim of Obtaining Users' Records
TikTok Under Fire
"I don't believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban," said Brendan Carr, a Federal Communications Commission commissioner (FCC) to BBC News.
He went on to say that he didn't believe there was a scenario in which you could put enough safeguards in place to ensure that the data didn't end up in the hands of the [Chinese Communist Party].
ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, has frequently denied that the Chinese government controls it. Since then, authorities in the UK, EU, and US have been closely monitoring the app.
The Irish Data Protection Commission, the EU's top regulator, has also probed the app on two privacy concerns. The watchdog is investigating TikTok's handling of children's personal data, as well as whether it behaved in accordance with EU legislation when transferring personal data to countries such as China.
In another defense statement, TikTok stated that it was never used to target the US government, activists, public figures, or journalists. Ms. Fox backs this claim by saying that TikTok does not gather exact location data from European users.
Related Article: TikTok's Leaked Audio from its Meetings Reveal that China has Access to US User Data
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Written by Thea Felicity
