ByteDance employees inappropriately gained access to TikTok user data

Members of ByteDance’s internal audit team responsible for the probe accessed the personal data from some journalists’ accounts, including IP addresses, to try to determine whether they interacted with TikTok employees, according to a second email. — AFP

TikTok parent company ByteDance Ltd found that some employees inappropriately gained access to data for some American users, complicating the Chinese technology giant’s already-fraught efforts to convince US lawmakers that its app is secure.

“The individuals involved misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data,” Shou Chew, chief executive officer of the popular mobile video-sharing app, told employees in a memo viewed by Bloomberg.