Concerning the surveillance problem, TikTok admitted that it had inappropriately accessed information belonging to US customers, together with journalists from Forbes and the Monetary Instances, as a part of an effort to seek out leakers. TikTok and ByteDance stated they fired everybody concerned within the operation.
As I beforehand reported, the initiative was led by TikTok’s hyper-aggressive inner safety staff, which drew criticism from many staff at TikTok. The sources I spoke to indicated the staff was principally staffed by former US and European legislation enforcement officers.