In a recent development, the popular video-sharing app TikTok has confirmed that sensitive information about American creators who participate in its monetization program is stored in China. This revelation comes after bipartisan Senate leaders sent a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew expressing concerns over his previous statements to Congress regarding data storage practices. While Chew had previously testified that American data was stored in Virginia and Singapore, an investigation by Forbes found that TikTok had stored financial information of prominent American and European creators, including those in the TikTok Creator Fund, on servers located in China.
In response to the Senate leaders’ letter, TikTok clarified that their previous statements to Congress focused on “protected user data” and not creator data. The company explained that “protected data” refers to user data identified by the U.S. government as requiring additional security measures. However, TikTok acknowledged that there are “limited exceptions” for certain categories of creator data, which were negotiated as part of the app’s discussions with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on a national security agreement.
According to TikTok, these exceptions include public data, business metrics, interoperability data, and specific creator data when creators voluntarily sign up for commercial programs to reach new audiences and monetize their content. The company argued that the Forbes article referenced in the Senate leaders’ letter was specifically related to creator data collected outside of the standard app experience, such as signed contracts and related documents.
The distinction made by TikTok between “protected data” and data falling under exceptions did not convince Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn, who expressed concerns about the potential exposure of Americans’ personal data to the Chinese government. They accused TikTok executives of misleading Congress with their claims about data security and protection. Additionally, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio and a group of House Republicans have called for investigations into potential perjury committed by TikTok’s CEO during his testimony.
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When questioned about whether TikTok has shared Creator Fund data stored in China with Chinese officials, the company stated that it has not been asked for such data and has not provided it to the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TikTok also confirmed that deletion of “protected data” stored in China is underway but clarified that personal information shared by top creators for payment purposes is not included in this deletion process.
The ongoing scrutiny by congressional leaders raises concerns about the privacy and security of user data on TikTok, highlighting the need for transparency and effective data protection measures to ensure the trust of its users.
