Government officials calling out TikTok for privacy concerns is nothing new, but the social platform’s own employees are starting to say the organization is letting China pull the strings. They claim that China is exerting more control over TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
The news comes as the national debate over the app has only grown louder. The federal government has banned TikTok on all devices used for federal work. Some states, like Montana, have even gone so far as to block access on all app stores.
According to The Wall Street Journal, as the social media company tries to distance itself from China, U.S. employees claim high-ranking ByteDance executives have swapped offices, moving from Beijing to locations within the U.S. Employees say the executives are taking on roles that oversee advertising, human resources, monetization, marketing and more.
The U.S.-based employees said they’re worried the public doesn’t realize China’s oversized role behind the scenes at TikTok. U.S. authorities fear China could pressure TikTok into sharing user data and spreading misinformation, something TikTok has repeatedly denied.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have gone after TikTok. Trump sought to ban it nationwide, and Biden went after the app’s Chinese owners, demanding they sell their stakes in the company. TikTok has fought both administrations’ efforts.
The issue was front and center during the second Republican debate on Wednesday, Sept. 27, when former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley went after GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who downloaded TikTok to connect with young voters.
“This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have,” Haley said. “150 million people are on TikTok, that means they can get your contacts, they can get your financial information, they can get your emails, they can get text messages, they can get all of these things. China knows exactly what they are doing.”
Since joining TikTok, Ramaswamy has gained more than 50,000 followers.
A spokesperson for TikTok recently said the social media company had not downplayed its ties to ByteDance. But according to the Journal, internal memos revealed that personnel were advised to “downplay the parent company ByteDance,” and “downplay the China association.”
The U.S.-based employees also said they took exception to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony to Congress in March, saying Chew misrepresented TikTok’s relationship with ByteDance.