TikTok sends U.S. lawmakers options to retain US consumer information out of ByteDance's palms

In context: Just lately unveiled statements from TikTok workers expose that Chinese staff members continuously and improperly accessed nonpublic U.S. person details. In spite of previously promises that Tiktok consumer details was secured and managed by a "US-primarily based security team," the social media giant has been located to have improperly accessed person facts on quite a few instances and was suspected of maybe leaking data directly to the Chinese federal government. Now, a TikTok executive has supplied congress with a letter conveying how the business will defend the details from ByteDance and house it in an Oracle facts centre in the U.S.

The letter from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was sent to nine U.S. senators to make clear how the business will preserve all information and facts saved in U.S. based Oracle information centers. The facts would be periodically audited by a U.S.-based mostly protection workforce.

Chew acknowledged that the shift was element of the social media firm's much larger strategy to greatly enhance details stability known as Venture Texas. Chew also minced no text in the letter, acknowledging that TikTok is 1 of the "...most scrutinized platforms from a safety standpoint, and we intention to clear away any doubt about the security of U.S. user facts."

The adhere to up letter from TikTok was supplied in reaction to inquiries from Marsha Blackburn, John Thune, and many other U.S. senators who questioned the corporation and their data methods. Their queries ended up submitted next a report from BuzzFeed on ByteDance's facts protection techniques (and flaws). The response from TikTok denies any wrongdoing on the firm's behalf, stating that the accusations and insinuations in the BuzzFeed report were incorrect and not supported by info.

Chew's letter goes on to discuss details controls and reiterated the company's intent to delete all U.S. consumer knowledge from its present servers as soon as the Oracle changeover is full. Nevertheless, he was also very clear that ByteDance workforce in China would still do the job on TikTok, developing algorithms made to feed individualized tips to the platform's customers. He also acknowledged that specific video clips and feedback would continue to be open up to Chinese staff, but only under accepted federal government circumstances.

On Friday, Senator Blackburn said that Mr. Chew's letter proved that fears about the Chinese Communist Party's influence on the enterprise ended up effectively started. "The Chinese-run company ought to have arrive clean up from the start, but it attempted to shroud its function in secrecy," she stated, including that TikTok wanted to testify ahead of Congress again.