ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location using their IP addresses, as first reported by Forbes in October.| Forbes
The internal risk assessment, completed in late 2021, also warned of rampant self-dealing, embezzlement, and potential indictment of executives.| Forbes
The project, assigned to a Beijing-led team, would have involved accessing location data from some U.S. users’ devices without their knowledge or consent.| Forbes
Former employees claim the company placed pieces of pro-China content in its now-defunct US news app, TopBuzz, and censored negative stories about the Chinese government. ByteDance says it did no such thing.| BuzzFeed News
“I feel like with these tools, there’s some backdoor to access user data in almost all of them,” said an external auditor hired to help TikTok close off Chinese access to sensitive information, like Americans’ birthdays and phone numbers.| BuzzFeed News
There are multiple ways the U.S. government might attempt to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But TikTok will almost certainly challenge a ban in court.| Forbes
In 2021, TikTok became the most visited website in the world. Since then, it has led trends in American culture and commerce, and played an increasing role in civic and political discourse around the world.| Forbes
TikTok is rebuilding its systems to keep US user data in the US and putting a new US-based team in control. But for now, that team reports to executives in China.| BuzzFeed News