Chinese Hackers

[kyonides]

TikTok Tells Inquiry China-Based Employees
Can Make Changes to Algorithm

TikTok officials have admitted to an Australian government inquiry that China-based employees can change the social media app’s algorithm.

This is the first time officials from the company have made the admission, which has raised increasing questions about the reach of the Chinese regime into foreign societies through the app.

Appearing before the Select Committee on Foreign Interference Through Social Media Inquiry, TikTok’s Security Officer Will Farrell, under questioning, admitted employees of TikTok based in China could adjust the algorithm.

“They can make changes, which will then go under a security review to make sure those changes are acceptable,” Mr. Farrell said.
...
“It means that the long arm of the Chinese state can reach into the heart of the Australian democracy and influence a platform which is an increasing source of news and information about the world for young people,” Senator Paterson told Sky News.

“Now, if they’ve got control over that app, what is on it and also what data it collects on its users. That’s a very powerful tool that they can wield against us, and I’m very concerned about the implications of that for Australians.”

Senator Paterson said that the admission would mean that the inquiry, which is due to deliver its findings on Aug. 1, will have to make some “very tough recommendations to the government about confronting this problem.”
...
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance which publicly acknowledges it is headquartered in Beijing.

While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has no official stake in the company, it does hold a one percent stake in its Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, under the sovereign wealth fund, which is also publically available information.
...
The senate inquiry comes as governments around the world become more apprehensive about the national security concerns stemming from the app’s access to personal data, which experts argue could be handed over to the CCP under the its National Intelligence Law of 2017.

This has led to 16 countries, including Australia, the UK, the U.S., and the EU, to ban the app from government devices.

However, TikTok officials denied this would ever occur, with [TikTok Australia’s Director of Public Policy Ella] Woods-Joyce stating that the company would not hand over data if asked.
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However, Senator Paterson noted that under the National Intelligence Law, any Chinese employee of TikTok who was asked to access Australian user data would be obligated to keep the request quiet due to the “strict confidentiality requirements that are imposed on individuals who are assisting the work of intelligence agencies.”

 Of course, if nobody's able to speak up, "it never happened", and nobody else will ever learn about it, right?