TikTok Confirms Chinese Staff Can Access UK and EU User Data
TikTok has officially confirmed that some employees outside the continent, including in China, can access the data of individuals using the app in Europe.
The news comes from the social media giant’s head of privacy in Europe, Elaine Fox, who has said access for staff in China was necessary to guarantee the app’s correct functionalities.
“Based on a demonstrated need to do their job, subject to a series of robust security controls and approval protocols, and by way of methods that are recognized under the [general data protection regulation] GDPR, we allow certain employees within our corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States, remote access to TikTok European user data,” Fox explained. The move is bound to send ripples across the regulatory community, as TikTok was already under scrutiny in Europe and the US over concerns that user data could be passed to the Chinese state. TikTok has so far denied the claims, so Fox’s words may now be seen as a U-turn.
