TikTok Under Federal Criminal Investigation For Spying On American Citizens: Report

TikTok, the parent company of ByteDance and TikTok is under criminal investigation by federal authorities for surveillance of U.S. citizens.

This comes as the U.S. legislators have published bipartisan legislation earlier in the month that would allow them to ban the app. The Biden administration stated support for the legislation.

Forbes reported that TikTok’s spying of American journalists by the Department of Justice Criminal Division and Fraud Section was the subject of a criminal investigation.

Prosecutors subpoenaed ByteDance to be investigated “efforts by its employees to access U.S. journalists’ location information or other private user data using the TikTok app.”

Forbes first reported that the Beijing-based company was monitoring American journalists. Later, Forbes reported that TikTok had admitted to it.

Erich Andersen, TikTok’s General Counsel, wrote in an email to his employees that Forbes had obtained. “in this case individuals misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data.”

Jennifer Banks, spokesperson for ByteDance, confirmed that spying took place to the publication. “We have strongly condemned the actions of the individuals found to have been involved, and they are no longer employed at ByteDance,” She spoke. “Our internal investigation is still ongoing, and we will cooperate with any official investigations when brought to us.”

Biden’s administration demanded that ByteDance either sell its vertical video application, or face a ban in the United States.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (a nine-member board that weighs the national security implications from international investments) recently ordered ByteDance’s sale. The company promised to spend $1.5 million to secure American user data and to prevent Chinese officials accessing the information.

Last week, Chris Wray, FBI Director, stunned U.S. senators when he disclosed the capabilities of the app to communist China.

Wray stated that communist China can control millions of users’ data using TikTok, as well as the software on millions more devices. He also said that they could use it to generate narratives pitting Americans against each other.

Wray warned then that China could use TikTok in order to control U.S. narratives. “not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening if it was happening.”

“And I think the most fundamental piece that cuts across every one of those risks and threats that you mentioned that I think Americans need to understand is that something that’s very sacred in our country, that difference between the private sector and the public sector, that’s a line that is non-existent in the way that CCP operates,” Wray stated.

Rubio noted then the differences between what TikTok users see in China and what TikTok users see in the U.S. “For example, in the U.S. kids are being encouraged to choke themselves out, we’ve had kids die,” Rubio noted. “In China, they’re encouraged to focus on math and science and building the country.”

Wray agreed to Rubio’s assessment of the importance of the “poison” The fact that China is leaking information to U.S. users is just one way that China is using the app in order to harm and weaken the U.S.

Ben Zeisloft contributed this report.

“From TikTok under Federal Criminal Investigation for Spying on American Citizens: Report“

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