TikTok Strongly Denies Report That Its Chinese Parent Planned to Use App to Track Locations of Individual U S Citizens HEAD TOPICS

TikTok Strongly Denies Report That Its Chinese Parent Planned to Use App to Track Locations of Individual U S Citizens

10/21/2022 8:15:00 AM

TikTok Strongly Denies Report That Its Chinese Parent Planned to Use App to Track Location of Individual U S Citizens

Source

Variety

TikTok Strongly Denies Report That Its Chinese Parent Planned to Use App to Track Location of Individual U S Citizens TikTok pushed back on a report that ByteDance, its Chinese parent, planned to use the app to track the physical locations of at least two U.S. citizens. On Thursday, Forbes reported that ByteDance’… On Thursday, Forbesreportedthat ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department, which investigates possible misconduct by employees, in at least two cases planned to “collect TikTok data about the location of a U.S. citizen who had never had an employment relationship with the company.” Forbes cited internal company “materials” it reviewed for the report; the publication said it was not disclosing “the nature and purpose of the planned surveillance referenced in the materials in order to protect sources.” The article added it was unclear whether ByteDance actually collected data about the American citizens. Read more:
Variety » TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens

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My New Favorite Futbolista will introduce you to the World Cup’s most inspiring soccer players and the causes they champion. New episodes hosted by former Colombian striker Juan Pablo Ángel and LX News host Eric Alvarez will drop November 1 in English and Spanish. Read more >> TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensBREAKING SCOOP: TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance planned to use the TikTok app to track the physical location of specific American citizens, according to materials reviewed by Forbes. The team behind the monitoring project, ByteDance's China-based Internal Audit team, is led by a Beijing-based executive, who reports to ByteDance’s CEO and cofounder. Trump told you… Source: Meta executives TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensSCOOP: TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance planned to use the TikTok app to track the physical location of specific American citizens, according to materials reviewed by Forbes. Surprising no one who has been paying attention to China. Um…I heard something about this from the last President 🤔 and the media, like Forbes here, trashed him for it. US is surprised that a Chinese app could be such a success, now cook the conspiracy😅 TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensThe project, assigned to a Beijing-led team, would have involved accessing location data from some U.S. users’ devices without their knowledge or consent. ebakerwhite In 2020, I was told that this wasn't going to happen and that Trump was crazy for suggesting this possibility. ebakerwhite Trump was right ComfortablySmug ebakerwhite Lol So how would they do that if I don’t and won’t ever ever use that app designed for developmentally & intellectually challenegd ppl 🤡 TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensThe project, assigned to a Beijing-led team, would have involved accessing location data from some U.S. users’ devices without their knowledge or consent. ebakerwhite Shocking TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensThe project, assigned to a Beijing-led team, would have involved accessing location data from some U.S. users’ devices without their knowledge or consent. TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American CitizensThe project, assigned to a Beijing-led team, would have involved accessing location data from some U.S. users’ devices without their knowledge or consent. ebakerwhite Shut. It. Down. ebakerwhite Outlaw it! ebakerwhite tiktokexposed TiktoklivexBossckm TikTokersleaked TikTokersleaked pushed back on a report that ByteDance, its Chinese parent, planned to use the app to track the physical locations of at least two U.A China-based team at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the TikTok app to monitor the personal location of some specific American citizens, according to materials reviewed by Forbes .A China-based team at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the TikTok app to monitor the personal location of some specific American citizens, according to materials reviewed by Forbes .A China-based team at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the TikTok app to monitor the personal location of some specific American citizens, according to materials reviewed by Forbes . S. citizens. The team primarily conducts investigations into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. On Thursday, Forbes reported that ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department, which investigates possible misconduct by employees, in at least two cases planned to “collect TikTok data about the location of a U. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team also planned to collect TikTok data about the location of a U.S.S. citizen who had never had an employment relationship with the company. citizen who had never had an employment relationship with the company, the materials show. ” Forbes cited internal company “materials” it reviewed for the report; the publication said it was not disclosing “the nature and purpose of the planned surveillance referenced in the materials in order to protect sources. It is unclear from the materials whether data about these Americans was actually collected; however, the plan was for a Beijing-based ByteDance team to obtain location data from U. It is unclear from the materials whether data about these Americans was actually collected; however, the plan was for a Beijing-based ByteDance team to obtain location data from U.” The article added it was unclear whether ByteDance actually collected data about the American citizens. In a statement , TikTok claimed that its app “has never been used to ‘target’ any members of the U. users’ devices.S. TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said that TikTok collects approximate location information based on users’ IP addresses to “among other things, help show relevant content and ads to users, comply with applicable laws, and detect and prevent fraud and inauthentic behavior. government, activists, public figures or journalists, nor do we serve them a different content experience than other users." But the material reviewed by Forbes indicates that ByteDance's Internal Audit team was planning to use this location information to surveil individual American citizens, not to target ads or any of these other purposes." But the material reviewed by Forbes indicates that ByteDance's Internal Audit team was planning to use this location information to surveil individual American citizens, not to target ads or any of these other purposes. Our Internal Audit team follows set policies and processes to acquire information they need to conduct internal investigations of violations of the company codes of conduct, as is standard in companies across our industry. Any use of internal audit resources as alleged by Forbes would be grounds for immediate dismissal of company personnel. TikTok and ByteDance did not answer questions about whether Internal Audit has specifically targeted any members of the U. TikTok and ByteDance did not answer questions about whether Internal Audit has specifically targeted any members of the U.” According to TikTok, Forbes did not include the portion of its statement that “disproved the feasibility of its core allegation: TikTok does not collect precise GPS location information from U.S. government, activists, public figures or journalists. users, meaning TikTok could not monitor U. TikTok is reportedly close to signing a contract with the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which evaluates the national security risks posed by companies of foreign ownership, and has been investigating whether the company’s Chinese ownership could enable the Chinese government to access personal information about U. TikTok is reportedly close to signing a contract with the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which evaluates the national security risks posed by companies of foreign ownership, and has been investigating whether the company’s Chinese ownership could enable the Chinese government to access personal information about U. S.S. users in the way the article suggested.” TikTok does record IP addresses of users, but IP addresses cannot be used to reliably pinpoint a device’s location. (Disclosure: In a past life, I held policy positions at Facebook and Spotify. (Disclosure: In a past life, I held policy positions at Facebook and Spotify. “Forbes’ reporting about TikTok continues to lack both rigor and journalistic integrity,” TikTok said in the statement. Asked for a response, Forbes spokesperson Bill Hankes said, “We are confident in our sourcing, and we stand by our reporting. The order , which states that it intends to “emphasize . The order , which states that it intends to “emphasize . ” The Forbes article was written by Emily Baker-White, who disclosed in the piece that she previously held “policy positions at Facebook and Spotify. .” TikTok, which boasts well over 1 billion users for its short-form video entertainment app, has been a political football since its inception because it is owned and controlled by Chinese internet giant ByteDance. . India, for example, in 2020 blocked TikTok and other Chinese apps in the country . Citing national security concerns, Donald Trump, in the final months of his term as U.” The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.” The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.S. The Internal Audit and Risk Control team runs regular audits and investigations of TikTok and ByteDance employees, for infractions like conflicts of interest and misuse of company resources, and also for leaks of confidential information. president, issued an . Internal materials reviewed by Forbes show that senior executives, including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, have ordered the team to investigate individual employees, and that it has investigated employees even after they left the company.