TikTok was responding to a recent Forbes report that alleged that ByteDance planned to use the popular video-sharing app to monitor the location of “some specific American citizens”. The report said the company’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department was behind the monitoring project. Beijing-based executive Song Ye led the team and reported directly to ByteDance cofounder and CEO Rubo Liang. Citing internal company materials, Forbes reported that ByteDance wanted to use the location information from US users’ devices to surveil them rather than serve tailored ads as the company mentions in its location collection policies. The materials didn’t confirm if the Chinese firm is actively monitoring any US citizen or if it did in the past.
TikTok has denied these allegations
Shortly after this Forbes report was published yesterday, TikTok hit back saying the publication lacks “rigor and journalistic integrity”. It pointed out that Forbes chose not to include the portion of its statement that it provided directly to the publication that “disproved the feasibility of its core allegation”. The company was referring to its policy that it does not collect precise GPS location information from US users. As such, it could not monitor US users in the way Forbes suggested. “TikTok has never been used to target any members of the US government, activists, public figures, or journalists,” it added. The company also noted that it serves the same content experience to all users regardless of their position or designation. The precise content they see depends on their interests, viewing history, and other online activities. Forbes, meanwhile, is standing firm on its report. In a statement to BBC, the publication said: “We are confident in our sourcing, and we stand by our reporting”. Privacy has always been one of the biggest concerns with TikTok. The US government had ordered ByteDance to sell the app’s American unit to a local firm in 2020. In response, TikTok moved its servers for US-based users to the country. We will have to wait and see if the latest allegations trigger any regulatory investigation into the company.
