TikTok has been reportedly struggling to keep its promise to secure its US users' data beyond the reach of the Chinese government, according to The Washington Post.
Despite spending $1.5 billion for a separate unit to oversee data traffic from the US, several data have been reportedly still being accessed by employees from its parent company, the Chinese-based ByteDance.
Internal documents indicated that managers would sometimes instruct employees to bypass official channels in sharing certain data with their parent company.
According to reports and testimonies, much of the data shared is personal information like the user's email address, birth date, and even IP address.
As of writing, there is no confirmation that the Chinese government has actively sought information from Americans via the video-sharing platform.
TikTok has yet to confirm WSJ's reports but said it is "voluntarily implementing our plan to protect U.S. user data."
The company has denied accusations of sharing data with the Chinese government several times.
Leaked Documents Put Questions on Legitimacy of Project Texas
If the leaked information was indeed true, this puts TikTok's Project Texas at further scrutiny amid calls to fully ban the platform in the US.
Project Texas refers to TikTok's initiative to convince US lawmakers that its "data protection and access control" securities are safe.
This includes integrating an isolated server inside the American-based Oracle cloud environment to contain all recommendation algorithms, advertising engines, e-commerce information, user data, and content moderation systems within US control.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew previously assured lawmakers that the Project "eliminates the concern" of users' data being subjected to China's policies as it does with ByteDance.
The company has since reminded employees of its data-sharing policies and to review TikTok's code for any signs of China breaching before initiating updates.
China Increases Surveillance on US Amid Tensions
Rumors of TikTok's challenges come at a difficult time as the rift between the US and China continues to grow larger.
The Eastern superpower has previously been reported to employ AI systems and advanced technology to spy on its US counterparts.
In turn, US agents have also been monitoring Chinese-based companies for possible data leakage as it becomes bolder in its assertions against China.
The Western country's export ban continues to be implemented as the two nations clash for economic authority over the trade routes.
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