The news of ByteDance employees spying on US journalists is not new. The issue first emerged back in December 2022 and ByteDance claimed that they have already fired the employees that were behind the surveillance.
Under Investigation
ByteDance does not have the best track record when it comes to its relationship with the US government. There have been many instances when the company's security measures and practices have been questioned.
New reports say that one of its past issues regarding the surveillance of two US journalists is being dug up and investigated, which came at the worst time as TikTok is at the edge of a precipice to being banned in the country.
According to Engadget, TiktTok's parent company has already received subpoenas from the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviews regarding the matter. Although it is unclear if the two matters are related.
According to a ByteDance spokesperson, the internal investigation is still ongoing, and the company will cooperate with official investigations when they are needed. They also stated that they "strongly condemn" the actions of the individuals who were involved in the data access.
This may also just be an addition to the Congress' list of grievances toward TikTok which could help the implementation of the nationwide ban on the app. This has been contemplated by government officials even back in Trump's administration.
The investigation also conveniently comes at a time when the US government is forcing ByteDance to sell its stakes. The company has been contacted by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), which recommended the sale.
A Tiktok spokesperson responded by saying the divestment would not solve the problem it is about the protection of national security, according to BBC. They added that a change in ownership would not impose new restrictions on data flows or access.
Background on the Incident
Back when the news about the issue first broke, ByteDance conducted an internal investigation to find the employees responsible for the access of the two media practitioners' data. According to reports, the employees tried to determine the source of suspected company leaks.
The four employees then gained access to the reporters' IP addresses and other private data, as well as a few others who were connected to the reporters in their TikTok accounts. The IP address was to find out if they were close to particular ByteDance employees.
However, no leaks or evidence of it were found, according to The New York Times. Three of the employees were fired while one resigned. However, the four were not based on the same location. Two were working in China while the other two were based in the US.
The reporters whose data was accessed worked for Forbes and Financial Times. The incident follows the report from Forbes that resulted in an investigation that proved that the ByteDace employees did access the data inappropriately.
ByteDance CEO Rubo Liang expressed that he was deeply disappointed when he was made aware of the incident. He added that the misconduct of a few individuals undermined their efforts to build public trust.
