China is Accessing TikTok User Data, Court Filings Say
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- 09 Jun 2023
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An insider familiar with TikTok has validated Washington's concerns regarding Beijing's potential utilization of user data. Although the informant lacked concrete evidence, he insists that such activities are indeed transpiring.
In recent court filings, a former employee of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, asserted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been accessing user data from the app for surveillance and political motives. While his testimony stands as the sole support, it is highly probable that Congress will lend credibility to his claims, especially given the news of Beijing's plan to establish a military listening post in Cuba. (If this is a sequel to the Cold War, could they not have chosen a different location?)
Confronting the Culprit Issues relating to shadowy threats against national security have long been debated in Congress, stretching back to the era preceding the Zimmerman telegram. Presently, TikTok, the China-originated video-sharing platform featuring dance challenges, unboxing videos, ASMR recordings, and an array of other captivating content, has captured Washington's attention. A significant portion of the US government suspects that TikTok may willingly or inadvertently disclose user information to the CCP due to Beijing's pervasive control over Chinese enterprises. This suspicion serves as potent ammunition to fuel patriotism and garner support for the ongoing trade war with China. However, the latest testimony hardly serves as definitive proof.
Yintao Yu, a former executive in the United States for ByteDance, claimed that the CCP engaged in surveillance of Hong Kong protestors in 2018. According to his allegations, the government exploited "backdoor" access through TikTok to identify and monitor the demonstrators' locations and communications. However, Yu, who is concurrently suing TikTok for unjust termination in California, failed to present any tangible evidence in his court submissions, leaving his claims to be accepted solely on trust. At present, the situation bears resemblance to former intelligence officer David Grusch's assertion of the US government's secret stash of extraterrestrial spacecraft – while one may want to believe, the absence of evidence weakens the claim:
Yu asserted that he witnessed access logs demonstrating CCP officials utilizing a "god credential" to circumvent security measures and acquire TikTok data. He made these allegations under penalty of perjury. Cybersecurity experts consulted by CNN suggested that Yu's claim appears to be the first instance where the CCP has allegedly accessed TikTok data under specific circumstances. ByteDance, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as baseless and accused Yu of seeking publicity: "It is peculiar that Mr. Yu did not raise these accusations during the five years following his termination from Flipagram (another ByteDance app) in July 2018. It is evident that his actions are merely an attempt to attract media attention." Let It Go: China intends to implement further restrictions on technology in the name of national security, adding to the existing regulations governing programs such as Apple's AirDrop, which enables short-range file-sharing without internet access. This technology has reportedly been employed by protestors during zero-Covid and anti-government demonstrations. According to You Yunting, a senior partner at Shanghai DeBund Law Offices, the proposed rules would likely require file-sharing operators to surrender phone numbers and identification data of individuals who utilized these services if authorities request such information on security grounds. Here's a Netflix pitch: Black (Two-Way) Mirror.
