Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jun 26, 2025

TikTok faces reckoning in the West

TikTok faces reckoning in the West

A company official admits Europeans’ data is accessed by China-based employees.
Two years after then-United States President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok as a national security threat, growing Western concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership are finally threatening to boil over.

On Wednesday, a top U.S. official at the Federal Communications Commission said the U.S. government should ban the app, which has been downloaded more than 200 million times in the U.S. alone.

In an interview with Axios on November 1, FCC official Brendan Carr said he didn’t “believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban,” citing recent revelations in BuzzFeed that China-based engineers working at TikTok accessed U.S. users' information, including phone numbers and birthdays.

In what came across as a veiled mea culpa, TikTok’s European head of privacy Elaine Fox the same day in a statement admitted that Europeans’ data is accessed by employees in China, confirming long-held suspicions in the West.

The revelations will give fresh impetus to regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In Ireland, the data watchdog is currently probing TikTok’s transfers of millions of Europeans’ data to China and told POLITICO that it expected to issue a draft decision in early 2023. Though details of the probe are not known, it could conceivably result in a ban and a fine.

In the U.S., TikTok is currently in negotiations with CFIUS, a U.S. body that conducts national security reviews of foreign companies' deals, to determine whether it can remain operational in the country via divestments to a U.S.-based company.

According to the FCC's Carr, though, there simply isn't "a world in which you could come up with sufficient protection on the data that you could have sufficient confidence that it’s not finding its way back into the hands of the [Chinese Communist Party].” In response, TikTok said Carr had no role in its discussions with the U.S. government and that it was “confident” it could reach an agreement that satisfies national security concerns.

Over in Europe, the revelation that data is accessed in China is likely to cause alarm on the Continent, which has strict requirements about how companies handle people’s personal information under the General Data Protection Regulation.

“We allow 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. Our security controls include system access controls, encryption and network security," TikTok’s Fox said in her statement Wednesday.

Fox said employees are only allowed access based on a demonstrated need to do their jobs, and are subject to a series of robust security controls and approval protocols that are compliant with the GDPR.

Yet the revelations are likely to lead to fresh questions about whether the Chinese government is able to use TikTok to spy on people. TikTok has long sought to downplay its links to the repressive state and has insisted that no European or U.S. data is stored in China.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
×