TikTok Cops Launch 'Secret Surveillance Campaign' On Western Journalists

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Following an internal investigation, TikTok owner ByteDance today confirmed reports from this fall that some of its employees used the popular app to track several journalists, including two at the United States. The goal of ByteDance employees? To identify anonymous sources who were leaking information to the media about the company's ties to the Chinese government, according to The New York Times.

Forbes reported that several reporters from his own publication were "part of this covert surveillance campaign." A Buzzfeed reporter and British Financial Times reporter Cristina Criddle were also monitored, FT reported. ByteDance employees reportedly accessed journalists' TikTok accounts to obtain IP and user data, assessing whether there was an overlap with pings from known locations of suspected leaked ByteDance employees. ByteDance confirmed that these tactics have become so prevalent that employees also monitor the data of some journalists' associates.

According to Forbes, ByteDance has fired Chris Lepitak, the chief internal auditor responsible for the company's internal audit and risk control department. ByteDance confirmed that Lepitak's team was behind the surveillance campaign. In October, Forbes reported that Lepitak was also apparently seeking information on "the location and details of the Oracle server that is central to TikTok's plans to limit foreign access to US users' personal data." That server is key to ongoing talks between the Biden administration and TikTok over national security concerns, with the United States growing suspicious of ByteDance's Chinese employees' access to data stored in the United States.

Forbes received access to an internal email from TikTok General Counsel Erich Andersen, who confirmed that the Lepitak team "abused its authority to gain access to user data from TikTok" in the follow-up of journalists.

FT reported that four employees were involved, and Forbes reported that ByteDance fired two US-based employees and two in China. ByteDance spokeswoman Hilary McQuaide echoed Andersen's email in a statement saying that "the misconduct of certain individuals, who are no longer employed at ByteDance, was a gross abuse of their authority. to gain access to user data".

Ars was unable to contact ByteDance immediately for comment.

Earlier today, Reuters reported that TikTok had started offering more concessions to the United States, apparently willing to take any action but put itself on sale to assuage concerns over user access. China-based employees to U.S. user data. The deal will be all the more difficult after ByteDance confirmed that US journalists and civilians have already been tracked by China-based employees. Already, some US lawmakers have voted to remove TikTok from government devices, and Congress is considering passing a nationwide ban.