TikTok has informed its users in the United Kingdom and the European Union that some of its employees in China have access to data linked to their accounts.
Elaine Fox, the social media giant’s head of privacy in Europe, said in an update to its privacy policy that access for staff in China is “based on a demonstrated need to do their job.”
It comes as the video-sharing platform, which has a Chinese parent company, is under scrutiny from governments around the world, particularly in Europe and the United States, over concerns that user data could be passed to the Chinese state – something the company has repeatedly denied.
In the update, Ms Fox said while TikTok European user data is stored in the US and Singapore, the company allows “certain employees within our corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and the United States remote access to TikTok European user data”.
She said there are “robust security controls and approval protocols” in place to protect the data, and the methods used are “recognised under the GDPR” – the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
She said TikTok “does not collect precise location information, whether based on GPS technology or otherwise, from users in Europe”.
In August, an official TikTok account for Parliament was shut down after MPs raised concerns about the platform’s Chinese links and concerns over user data being sent to Beijing.
The relationship between Westminster and Beijing has deteriorated significantly since a number of MPs and peers were sanctioned by the Chinese government for speaking out against human rights violations.
Theo Bertram, the app’s vice president for government relations and public policy in Europe, told MPs in July: “We have never been asked to provide TikTok user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked.”
In her statement, Ms Fox said: “TikTok strives to be open and transparent about how we collect and process our users’ information.
“We’ll continue to work to earn and build trust with our community with updates centred on transparency into our data practices and the investments we’re making in the people, processes and technology to keep our community safe.”