TikTok China staff can access user data from UK and EU
TikTok insists its practices are consistent with the GDPR.
The Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has alerted its European users that staff outside of Europe may have access to their data, as it prepares to change its privacy guidelines.
The privacy policy changes about data accessibility will go into effect on 2nd December for users in the UK, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
Elaine Fox, TikTok's head of privacy for Europe, said on Wednesday that certain employees within the firm's corporate group would be permitted access to user data due to a "demonstrated need to do their job" and to maintain a "consistent, enjoyable, and safe" user experience.
Staff in China, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, the United States, and possibly other countries, will be able to access data pertaining to European users.
TikTok currently stores its European user data on servers in the USA and Singapore.
Fox said TikTok's efforts are focused on minimising the amount of staff with access to European user data, limiting data transfers outside of the region, and keeping European user data locally.
TikTok could use that data to conduct checks on the platform's recommendation algorithm functionality, and to identify malicious automated accounts.
TikTok has admitted in the past that certain user data is accessible by employees of its parent firm, ByteDance, in China.
Fox insisted that the data access is subject to a variety of robust security controls and approval standards, and by methods recognised by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
"TikTok strives to be open and transparent about how we collect and process our users' information," she noted.
"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."
TikTok's announcement came in the same week that a senior official at the US communications authority said TikTok should be banned in the USA.
"I don't believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban," said Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The TikTok app has more than 1 billion monthly users globally and is a favourite among Gen Z.
However, it has also come under fire in a number of countries because of its alleged links to the Chinese government.
Former President Donald Trump even attempted to ban TikTok by executive order when he was in the White House.
In June, Carr urged Apple and Google to stop offering TikTok in their app stores, saying it poses a serious national security risk and may send sensitive personal data to Beijing.
In August, the UK Parliament closed its TikTok account, after a group of MPs and peers voiced concerns about the platform's ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its treatment of user data.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, and Lord McFall, the Lord Speaker, said the TikTok account was an effort to interact with younger audiences, who are often not as active on other social media platforms.
However, after receiving feedback on the issue, the lawmakers decided that the account should be closed with immediate effect.