ByteDance fires 4 employees who took TikTok data of American journalists

ByteDance has reportedly fired 4 employees who obtained the information of many TikTok users living in the United States.

According to The New York Times, the access to the information of many US TikTok users, including journalists, and the dismissal of employees. According to The New York Times, an investigation by an outside law firm said the staff members tried to locate sources who gave the news to reporters.

Of the 4 ByteDance employees who were fired for accessing user data, 2 are from the United States, and the other two are from China, where TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based.

The company examined employees who oversaw access to the IP addresses and other data linked to the TikTok accounts of a BuzzFeed News reporter and Financial Times technology reporter Christina Cridell.

According to the study, the staff obtained information from a large number of people involved with the journalist. According to Forbes, ByteDance tracked down three journalists who had previously worked for BuzzFeed News for posting stories on TikTok, including content possibly related to the Chinese government.

“The misconduct of this individual, who is no longer affiliated with ByteDance, was a serious abuse of their right to access user information. This type of behavior is unacceptable. And it is inconsistent with what we do on TikTok to earn the trust of our users,” ByteDance said in a statement.

It is said that ByteDance takes the security of user information seriously and continues to strive to be in accordance with the policy. Last October, Forbes reported that members of ByteDance’s internal audit and risk management department used TikTok to track the location of some Americans. ByteDance also announced that it is undergoing internal restructuring and has banned access to US data.

The Brief

Across the United States, efforts are underway to ban the use of TikTok, with dozens of states including Georgia and Texas banning the TikTok app from US government products. Earlier this month, a bill was drafted that would effectively block TikTok from U.S. consumer products. Russia Cuba Iran Other social networking apps related to North America and Venezuela are also going to be banned.