A former executive at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has alleged that the Chinese Communist party accessed user data from the social video app belonging to Hong Kong protesters and civil rights activists. Yintao Yu, a former head of engineering at ByteDance’s US operation, claimed in a legal filing that a committee of Communist party members accessed TikTok data that included the users’ network information, Sim card identifications and IP addresses in a bid to identify the individuals and their locations. The claims, in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by Yu…
Tag: TikTok
How war in Taiwan could mean the wheels come off the UK economy
As the world struggles with the economic fallout from the Ukraine war, fears are mounting about a conflict that would be even more consequential: a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Last week, Taiwan’s foreign minister said he was preparing for the possibility of a conflict with China in 2027, and a leaked memo from a four-star US general said his “gut” told him the US – which is committed to defending Taiwan – would be at war with China in 2025. The UK foreign secretary warned last week that such a…
Australian government resists blanket WeChat ban despite restrictions by multiple departments
The Australian government is resisting issuing a ban on WeChat on government devices despite many government departments instituting their own bans after the TikTok edict earlier this month. TikTok was banned from government devices in early April over data collection and security concerns connected to the Chinese government. The move followed a review by the home affairs department which examined a range of social media platforms, but TikTok was the only app singled out for an immediate ban. At the time TikTok was banned, dozens of federal departments had already…
From Facebook intern to the crosshairs of Congress: TikTok chief’s stellar rise
Shou Zi Chew has said the most gruelling experience of his life was a five-day survival course in the jungles of Borneo when he was serving as a conscript in Singapore’s armed forces. The TikTok chief executive, whose trans-global academic and business career has rapidly propelled him to the top job at one of the world’s biggest tech companies, will need to display some of that mettle as he battles to ensure the corporate survival of the controversial but immensely popular social video app. The 40-year-old Singaporean, who faces questioning…
TikTok to be banned from UK parliamentary devices
Parliament is to ban the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from “all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network”, citing the need for cybersecurity. The move goes further than the ban last week of the app on government mobile phones and devices, covering the whole parliamentary network. That means that MPs and parliamentary staff who continue to have TikTok installed on personal devices will find the service blocked if they try to access it over parliamentary wifi. A parliament spokesperson said on Thursday: “Following the government’s decision to ban TikTok from…
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before US Congress amid growing security concerns – live
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Congress to grill TikTok CEO over data privacy concerns and safety of users
The chief executive of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is set to face a grilling from US lawmakers on Thursday as the political storm surrounding the China-owned social media platform intensifies with the Biden administration threatening to ban the app entirely in the US.g TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has long faced criticisms over the data it holds on US users – data that lawmakers fear could fall into the hands of the Chinese government. While the platform has repeatedly denied those claims, stating it stores US…
TikTok’s CEO eluded the spotlight. Now, a looming ban means he can’t avoid it
Shou Zi Chew is not a prolific TikToker. The 40-year-old CEO of the Chinese-owned app has just 23 posts and 17,000 followers to his name – paltry by his own platform’s standards. Chew’s profile sees him attending football games, visiting Paris and London, trying Nashville hot chicken, or boating on a lake, often with generic captions. (“Love the outdoors!”). Users have noticed: “Bro the TikTok ceo with 41 likes,” one person commented on his video of the outdoors. “Shout out to this small creator,” another wrote. Suffice to say, Chew…
BBC urges staff to delete TikTok from company mobile phones
The BBC has urged its staff to delete the Chinese-own social media app TikTok from corporate mobile phones. Guidance to BBC staff circulated on Sunday said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason. If you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted.” The move comes after the UK government banned the app on government-issued phones amid fears of sensitive data being accessed by the Chinese government, owing to its ownership by the Chinese internet company ByteDance.…
Why is TikTok banned from government phones – and should rest of us be worried?
TikTok is wildly popular, with more than 1 billion people consuming its short video posts around the world. But the app is less favoured by politicians in key markets such as the US and UK, where it has been banned from government-issued phones over security fears. We answer your questions about why TikTok has become a lightning rod for suspicion of Chinese state espionage – and whether nationwide bans are likely. Why has TikTok been banned from UK government phones? The main concerns with TikTok are related to data and…