The social media platform TikTok stored sensitive financial information about content creators on the application in China, despite previously claiming to only store Americans' data on servers outside of Beijing's purview, Forbes reported on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2023) The social media platform TikTok stored sensitive financial information about content creators on the application in China, despite previously claiming to only store Americans' data on servers outside of Beijing's purview, Forbes reported on Tuesday.
The personal financial information of thousands of TikTok creators, including social security numbers, was stored on servers in China and made accessible to employees there, the report said, citing records obtained from multiple sources across different parts of the company.
The report draws on internal communications, audio recordings, screenshots, and documents marked "Privileged and Confidential" as well as several people familiar with the matter.
TikTok uses internal tools and databases from the parent company ByteDance to manage payments to creators who earn money through TikTok, including many of the biggest creators in the United States and Europe, the report said.
Earlier this year, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told US lawmakers that American data has always been stored in Virginia and Singapore, amid concerns about protecting user privacy in the United States. US officials have pointed to alleged ties between TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, and the Chinese government as a source of concern.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek reportedly said that the company remains confident in Shou's statement to Congress. However, neither TikTok nor ByteDance answered questions about whether sensitive information of US citizens is stored and accessible in China, the report said.
The Chinese government has been accused in the past of stealing sensitive financial information from US citizens, including social security numbers used for identity theft, the report said.
Even if TikTok were not a subsidiary of a Chinese company, storing sensitive US data on Chinese servers would constitute an "alarming IT security malpractice," former White House and CIA national security lawyer Bryan Cunningham reportedly said.
The report comes following efforts across the US government to restrict the application on official devices, as well as amid a legal battle between TikTok and the state of Montana over a law set to ban application stores from offering the platform in the state.
