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December 23, 2022

TikTok Admits Its Workers Spied on Journalists
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The video-sharing platform Tik Tok has revealed some of its workers
tracked two reporters who cover the company, gaining access to their IP
addresses and user data. One journalist was from the Financial Times;
the other wrote for Buzz Feed and now works at Forbes. Forbes says at
least two more of its reporters were targeted for surveillance, which
was undertaken as part of an internal investigation into leaks at the
company. Byte Dance, the Chinese parent company of Tik Tok, says it did
not approve the spying tactics and fired the worker who led the effort.
This comes as the Senate on Thursday passed a provision banning Tik Tok
on most U.S. government devices. Some lawmakers have been fighting to
ban the hugely popular app altogether amid ongoing tensions between
Washington and Beijing, saying it poses a national security and privacy
risk.


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