WSJ News Exclusive | TikTok Employees Say Executive Moves to U.S. Show China Parent’s Influence

TikTok has spent the past three years trying to convince U.S. lawmakers it can operate independently in this country from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. However, after recent personnel moves, some employees aren’t so sure. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, TikTok employees have pointed to an exchange in which Chew said TikTok relies on employees in China for expertise on some engineering projects. The report suggests that the Chinese Communist Party had “supreme access” to all data held by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, including on servers in the United States. The allegations in the lawsuit – which ByteDance denies and has vowed to contest – comes at a time of intense scrutiny within the US and other Western nations over what level of control, if any, Beijing is able to exert over TikTok and the social media app’s wildly popular content.

Key facts from the story:

• TikTok employees have pointed to an exchange in which Chew said TikTok relies on employees in China for expertise on some engineering projects.
• The Chinese Communist Party had “supreme access” to all data held by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, including on servers in the United States.
• The allegations in the lawsuit – which ByteDance denies and has vowed to contest – comes at a time of intense scrutiny within the US and other Western nations over what level of control, if any, Beijing is able to exert over TikTok and the social media app’s wildly popular content.
• TikTok has spent the past three years trying to convince U.S. lawmakers it can operate independently in this country from its China-based parent company, ByteDance.
• The report suggests that the Chinese Communist Party had “supreme access” to all data held by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, including on servers in the United States.