TikTok Says Data Aren’t Used to Track Or 'Target' US Citizens

TikTok denied a report that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, used the platform to collect the data where a particular US citizen is located.

Douyin in China, TikTok, a short-form video hosting service, allows users to upload videos about stunts, pranks, tricks, dance, comical skits, and entertainment that runs from 15 seconds up to 10 minutes.

Forbes Report

Forbes published a report on Thursday, Oct. 20, alleging two cases where ByteDance's team based in China planned to collect TikTok data tracking the location of a US citizen.

The American business magazine said the internal audit and risk control team of ByteDance was supposed to carry out the plan.

The two cases of unnamed Americans were not employees or had been employed by TikTok's parent company, the publication clarified.

Based on the undisclosed materials the publication had viewed, Forbes cannot categorically say if the location data were actually collected from the devices used by the users.

Forbes reported further the absence of any indication that ByteDance intended to use the location information for commercial purposes.

TikTok Response

TikTok responded to the allegation on its Twitter account, @TikTokComms, by saying the report lacked "rigor and journalistic integrity."

It chided the American publication for not including the report the part of their statement disproving the allegation.

TikTok said their video-sharing platform does not collect the information of users from the US about their exact GPS location.

Contrary to what the report had suggested, TikTok said it "could not monitor US users."

It denied the allegation that the platform was used to "target" any members of the US government, public figures, activists, and journalists. TikTok clarified that all users, regardless of who they are, share the same content experience.

Forbes, TikTok said, hinted at the possible use of the internal audit resources, but it is not true. Any infraction on the use of the internal audit resources would mean a dismissal of the personnel if found guilty.

TikTok Policy

TikTok's privacy policy appears to be incongruent with its tweets.

In the Profile Information section, a user, upon registration, provides the company personal information such as username, password, date of birth when applicable, either the cellphone number or email address, image or video, and other details a user discloses in the profile section.

About Content And Behavioral Information, TikTok said it might collect information about the video or audio posted by the user. The information it collects includes identifying objects and scenery within "an image of the face and body features and attributes."

The policy also covers the technical information by which a user gives TikTok the authority to collect information related to the user's location and location information based on either the user's SIM card or IP address.

While the company said, the consent of the user will be sought when it collects GPS-specific data, somewhere in the police said the user has to agree with the policy to be able to use the platform.

TikTok denied the allegation. Its policy governing the use of its platform appears to suggest otherwise.