Soon
When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Thursday, he was asked a key question: whether the chinese government it could use TikTok or its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance Ltd. to police Americans or obtain data about them.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) found no evidence to support that TikTok has intentionally shared or plans to share user data with the Chinese government.
But TikTok’s slavish relationship with its parent company ByteDance, a Chinese company subject to Chinese law, would create opportunities for the Chinese government to collect data on American users.
In addition, TikTok’s own privacy policy and terms of service clearly state that it can move US user data out of the country. TikTok may never have shared your data with the Chinese government, but it surely has the ability to do so.
Thoroughly
1. Can TikTok share data with the Chinese government?
Yeah.
tiktok has said several times that it has not shared data with the Chinese government, and company executives have more stated that they would refuse to hand over any data to China if asked.
However, TikTok Privacy Policy says it clearly can share user data with its parent company, ByteDance, and various governments around the world if necessary.
Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, is based in Beijing. Like many Chinese companies, it has an internal committee of the Communist Party within its ranks which is headed by the Vice President zhang fu ping.
the chinese government has enacted laws that require companies to cooperate with state authorities when asked to provide any information on matters related to national security.
The 2017 Cybersecurity Law requires companies to store selected data in China and gives the government broad rights to verify such data at its discretion. Various other laws that give the state the right to collect information use ambiguous language and often include general phrases that allow them to apply the law as they see fit.
And TikTok’s privacy policy clearly says that other entities within its corporate group, like Bytedance, may have access to your data:
“As a global company, the Platform is supported by certain entities within our corporate group, which are granted remote access limited to Information we collect as necessary to enable them to perform certain important functions.”
Thus, TikTok can share data with Bytedance, which under Chinese law would be required to hand over data to the government if pressed.
2. Can TikTok’s US data be shared outside of the US?
Yeah.
TikTok may share and transmit your data to entities outside of the US. The section titled “Data Security and Retention” within TikTok’s privacy policy states:
“Tik Tok todayand transmit your data to its servers or data centers outside of the United States for storage and/or processing. Other entities with which TikTok may share your data as described in this document may be located outside of the United States.
3. Can TikTok data be shared with law enforcement in China?
Yeah.
TikTok’s policy notes that law enforcement in different countries may request data and that specific request procedures will vary from country to country.
We may disclose any of the Information we collect to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims, or government inquiries, and to protect and defend the rights, interests, safety, and security of the Platform, our affiliates, users, or the public. We can also share any of the Information we collect to enforce the terms applicable to the Platform, to exercise or defend any legal claim, and to comply with any applicable law.”
China does not have an independent judiciary; Law enforcement is subject to government order. Like Donald Clarke, a specialist in Chinese law at George Washington University noted on a similar case with Chinese technology company Huawei’s threat to the security of other countries’ data, “The Chinese Party/State is not significantly constrained by Chinese law.”
Conclusion
Although TikTok has repeatedly said that it has never shared data and will never share data with the Chinese government, there are reasonable concerns that it could.
TikTok’s privacy policy allows it to share data with its parent company Bytedance, transmit data outside of the US, and provide data to local law enforcement in other countries upon request.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a new branch of RFA established to counter misinformation in today’s complex media environment. Our journalists publish daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of public issues.
