New Report Seems to Confirm the Worst Fears About How TikTok Uses Data

According to a report published in Forbes Thursday, a team at ByteDance planned to use data from the app to monitor the personal location of some American citizens.

There have been questions about whether the app can expose its data to the Chinese government. Some of the worst fears about the social media app have been confirmed by a Forbes report.

The company attacked Forbes, arguing that the story left out critical information that proved the story wrong.

The app has never been used to target any members of the US government, activists, public figures or journalists.

Part of TikTok's statement could be a red herring. There is a lot of information the app collects that could be used to track users location, but the Forbes story doesn't mention it.

Emily Baker-White pointed out that TikTok didn't address the issue raised in the report.

TikTok didn't reply to the request for comment.

It's a delicate time for TikTok. ByteDance created a plan called "Project Texas" after it was reported that employees in China accessed data from American users. In a letter to Congress, TikTok said that the plan would ensure that the data would be limited to authorized personnel.

Since Donald Trump threatened to ban the app from the US, the federal government has been looking at it closely. The New York Times reported last month that TikTok was close to a deal with the Biden administration over its data practices.

It is difficult to imagine a setup that would make it impossible for employees in China to access TikTok data. Information gleaned from analyzing the data could be just as useful.

Many experts say there are bigger issues. The main For You Page of the app could be manipulated to promote propaganda that benefits China. It is hard to understand an app's content recommendation systems from the outside. There isn't much that TikTok can say to prove that it's not happening.

The Chinese government does not need TikTok in order to get American user data. Hundreds of companies based in the US sell information about you to anyone who wants it. Even without buying the data, a Gizmodo investigation from 2020 showed that data from American tech and social media companies can be found on Chinese companies' server.