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> So TikTok not only DID admit to have foreign access to US data, but also lied and denied previously about it then according to the leak in the Buzzfeed New ar

by Jochim 4y ago

> So TikTok not only DID admit to have foreign access to US data, but also lied and denied previously about it then according to the leak in the Buzzfeed New article. They never claimed their own employees didn't have access to the data. They claimed that access to the data was controlled and it was stored in data centres not subject to China's jurisdiction[0]: > First, let's talk about data privacy and security. We store all TikTok US user data in the United States, with backup redundancy in Singapore. Our data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of our data is subject to Chinese law. Further, we have a dedicated technical team focused on adhering to robust cybersecurity policies, and data privacy and security practices. Furthermore, the Buzzfeed article acknowledges that the "foreign access" was typically in the service of restricting that access: > In the recordings, the vast majority of situations where China-based staff accessed US user data were in service of Project Texas's aim to halt this data access. The actions of TikTok don't appear to be that of a bad faith actor. They responded to concerns about data privacy by moving customer data from their own data centres to those of an American cloud provider and have shown that they're working to restrict access to that data further. > This only proves that TikTok should deservedly get a billion dollar fine from the regulators as I said before, rather than trying to evade responsibility and join the likes of Facebook who did get fined for privacy violations, if they want to continue to operate in the US. What regulation did TikTok break? > If Facebook can't get away with the fines, neither should TikTok. Facebook wasn't fined for allowing internal employees in other countries access to internal data. They were fined for spunking that data all over anyone that winked at them. In the absence of a data breach, I'm not aware of which US law TikTok would have been breaking by allowing specific employees access to internal data. [0] https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/statement-on-tiktoks-content-moderation-and-data-security-practices https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/statement-on-tiktoks-conte...

rvz 4y ago
> They never claimed their own employees didn't have access to the data. They claimed that access to the data was controlled and it was stored in data centres not subject to China's jurisdiction[0]: That is a clear denial by TikTok since they were already under investigation at the time and denied having such access to US data overseas, then the leak demonstrated that they can (and already did) have access to that data. Showing me a 2019 newsroom post already tells they haven't learned their lesson about overseas data access. > The actions of TikTok don't appear to be that of a bad faith actor. They responded to concerns about data privacy by moving customer data from their own data centres to those of an American cloud provider and have shown that they're working to restrict access to that data further. So making it possible for them TO access non-public US user data overseas after saying they couldn't? (and admittedly they already did). Which they did again, when employees accessed the data to trace the source leaks on US journalists and reporters overseas. [0] With such access overseas also explains why those employees at ByteDance got fired, confirming that ByteDance is able to do it regardless. > What regulation did TikTok break? US privacy regulations, like they already have done years before [0]. They are no stranger to getting fined by the FTC, as with Facebook who already faced and paid a massive multi-billion dollar fine. > Facebook wasn't fined for allowing internal employees in other countries access to internal data. They were fined for spunking that data all over anyone that winked at them. In the absence of a data breach, I'm not aware of which US law TikTok would have been breaking by allowing specific employees access to internal data. Both cases are unprecedented with the way that user data was handled and accessed. TikTok's case alone is worthy of an extensive investigation by the FTC, since not only they have denied this and then later found to have lied after the leak, it even more deservedly should receive a multi-billion dollar fine with this case as with Facebook has done. There are no hiding places or defences left for TikTok to fall on. If they can't pay, well they can exit the US market themselves. [0] https://www.engadget.com/bytedance-tiktok-employees-us-user-data-journalists-210339650.html https://www.engadget.com/bytedance-tiktok-employees-us-user-... [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/27/us-government-fined-app-now-known-tiktok-million-illegally-collecting-childrens-data/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/27/us-gove...

by Jochim 4y ago

rvz 4y ago

> They never claimed their own employees didn't have access to the data. They claimed that access to the data was controlled and it was stored in data centres not subject to China's jurisdiction[0]: That is a clear denial by TikTok since they were already under investigation at the time and denied having such access to US data overseas, then the leak demonstrated that they can (and already did) have access to that data. Showing me a 2019 newsroom post already tells they haven't learned their lesson about overseas data access. > The actions of TikTok don't appear to be that of a bad faith actor. They responded to concerns about data privacy by moving customer data from their own data centres to those of an American cloud provider and have shown that they're working to restrict access to that data further. So making it possible for them TO access non-public US user data overseas after saying they couldn't? (and admittedly they already did). Which they did again, when employees accessed the data to trace the source leaks on US journalists and reporters overseas. [0] With such access overseas also explains why those employees at ByteDance got fired, confirming that ByteDance is able to do it regardless. > What regulation did TikTok break? US privacy regulations, like they already have done years before [0]. They are no stranger to getting fined by the FTC, as with Facebook who already faced and paid a massive multi-billion dollar fine. > Facebook wasn't fined for allowing internal employees in other countries access to internal data. They were fined for spunking that data all over anyone that winked at them. In the absence of a data breach, I'm not aware of which US law TikTok would have been breaking by allowing specific employees access to internal data. Both cases are unprecedented with the way that user data was handled and accessed. TikTok's case alone is worthy of an extensive investigation by the FTC, since not only they have denied this and then later found to have lied after the leak, it even more deservedly should receive a multi-billion dollar fine with this case as with Facebook has done. There are no hiding places or defences left for TikTok to fall on. If they can't pay, well they can exit the US market themselves. [0] https://www.engadget.com/bytedance-tiktok-employees-us-user-data-journalists-210339650.html https://www.engadget.com/bytedance-tiktok-employees-us-user-... [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/27/us-government-fined-app-now-known-tiktok-million-illegally-collecting-childrens-data/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/27/us-gove...