TikTok updated its privacy policy for European users on Tuesday, explicitly disclosing that employees in China can view personal data from the app.
The update is in line with what the company executives have said publicly. However, the addition reflects the intense scrutiny TikTok has faced regarding its international data streams.
The announcement, which the company said was meant to be more transparent, applies to users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, but not the United States.
Besides China, employees in other countries such as Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and the United States can process TikTok data, the company said. The app added that access to European user data “is granted to certain employees within our group” and is “based on a demonstrated need to do their job.”
TikTok also states that access by these employees is governed by “robust security controls” and is “provided through GDPR (European Union Data Protection Law) sanctioned methods.”
Elaine Fox, the company’s head of privacy in Europe, wrote in the company’s announcement:
“In order to operate a global platform designed for sharing joyful content, we rely on a global workforce to ensure that our community’s TikTok experience is consistent, enjoyable and safe.”
US politicians are increasingly concerned that the Chinese government will pressure TikTok or its parent company ByteDance to release users’ personal information under the country’s national security laws. expressing concern.
Amid these concerns, TikTok has spent months negotiating with the federal government about a possible national security deal that would allow it to continue operating in the United States. TikTok also migrated US user data from dedicated servers in the US and Singapore to cloud-based servers hosted by Oracle.
But that hasn’t assuaged criticism that user data can still be accessed by Chinese residents subject to Chinese security laws, the practice, which TikTok has not promised to end and which has been further highlighted, will continue in Tuesday’s European policy update.
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