The United States Department of Justice is investigating ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, for spying on US citizens, including several journalists.
ByteDance is based in Beijing, has its headquarters in the Cayman Islands and is believed to be close to the Chinese communist government.
The company admitted in December that it improperly acquired the data of US users from TikTok, including at least two journalists, according to the New York Times.
Forbes reporter Emily Baker-White, who broke the story, wrote that she was one of the reporters whose data was taken from her.
It comes as the Biden administration threatens to ban TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese owner sells its shares in the app.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation.
ByteDance is based in Beijing, headquartered in the Cayman Islands and believed to be close to the Communist Chinese government. The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok in the US unless its Chinese owner sells its shares in the app
ByteDance says employees who allegedly spied on people were fired after seeking to uncover the sources of internal company chat leaks.
Two of the employees worked from the Beijing office. The company says it is working to prevent the actions from happening again.
The news broke on the same day that a bipartisan group of six senators backed legislation giving President Joe Biden new powers to ban the Chinese-owned video app TikTok.
Earlier this month, 12 senators led by Democrat Mark Warner and Republican John Thune unveiled White House-backed legislation to give the Commerce Department new powers to address concerns from TikTok, which has more than 100 million US users.
The announcement comes after TikTok said this week that the Biden administration had demanded its Chinese owners divest their stake in the company or it would face a possible U.S. ban.
The request was made by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and states that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will sell its stake in the US version of the app.
It’s unclear if feds have given ByteDance a sales deadline.
Hilary McQuaide, a spokeswoman for TikTok, confirmed to DaiyMail.com that the request had been made but suggested the changes would not increase data security for US citizens.
Pictured: Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation.
Forbes reporter Emily Baker-White (pictured), who broke the story, wrote that she was one of the reporters her data was taken from
The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells its shares in the app. Pictured is Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok
The request was made by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is chaired by Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the Treasury
“If the goal is to protect national security, divestment does not solve the problem: a change of ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” she said in a statement. .
“The best way to address national security concerns is with transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, auditing, and auditing, which we are already putting in place. implemented,” she added.
TikTok critics said Chinese laws require Chinese companies to share data with the Chinese government.
The company is instead proposing a $1.5 billion security plan, dubbed Project Texas, that would see US user data blocked and overseen by Texas-based Oracle.
The plan would include independent monitors and auditors to ensure that neither ByteDance nor Chinese officials could access certain data.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency committee that monitors national security risks posed by foreign investment. It is chaired by Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, but its members include the heads of the justice, defense, state and energy departments.
TikTok critics say Chinese laws force Chinese companies to share data with the Chinese government
ByteDance staff walk past ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters in 2020. Its executives say 60% of its shares are held by foreign investors
In 2020, President Trump (pictured in 2020) gave Chinese company ByteDance 90 days to divest itself of all assets used to support popular app TikTok in the US. His administration’s efforts have been blocked in court
TikTok executives said 60% of ByteDance’s shares are held by global investors, 20% by employees and 20% by its founders, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on Requirement.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is due to testify next Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The request comes after a dozen U.S. senators last week unveiled a bipartisan bill giving President Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide.
The Restrict Act would allow the US Department of Commerce to declare that companies with foreign ties pose national security risks.
Last December, the Senate passed a bill to ban TikTok on government devices.
In 2020, the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok unless the app was sold to an American company. These efforts were thwarted when ByteDance went to court to oppose the ban.
He argued that this would be in violation of the Berman Amendments, which allow the free flow of “informational material” from hostile countries.
