A new report claims that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance employs over 300 people who previously worked in Communist Chinese media publications.
At least “[t]hree hundred current employees at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance previously worked for Chinese state media publications,” according to LinkedIn profiles reviewed by Forbes. The exposé further deepened the already shady connections between the Chinese Communist Party and TikTok.
A spokesperson for ByteDance told MRC Business the company was a “recording studio”. Forbes report was “inaccurate” and “Draws from old online profiles of people who have never worked in state media or are no longer employed by our company.. Our conflict of interest policy does not allow employees to concurrently hold positions at China state media organizations.”
This statement contradicts a search done by MRC Business, which found seven LinkedIn profiles that claimed to be currently employed at ByteDance/TikTok and also claim to have been previously employed at Chinese state media companies or outlets.
“Chinese state media outlets have a large presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but so far, they have been relatively quiet on TikTok,” Forbes reporter Emily Baker-White wrote. However, the influence of Chinese state media on TikTok seems to be increasing.
With that increase seems to have come an increasing penchant for authoritarian actions. TikTok repeatedly removed, censored or banned MRCTV videos from its platform. TikTok made it a permanent ban on May 26, for MRCTV.
This is after a Chinese government public relations entity reportedly tried to open a “stealth” TikTok account in 2020 to influence Western audiences.
While TikTok vowed in March to apply “labels to content from some state-controlled media accounts,” that policy does not seem to apply to many of the largest Chinese state media sources.
TikTok search shows the China Global Television Network doesn’t have warning labels that indicate it is China-affiliated.
Reuters reported in August 2021, that China’s government had a significant stake in ByteDance (a multinational tech company based in Beijing) and took a seat on the board.
According to Trafalgar Group’s survey, more than 50% of Americans believe that app stores should remove TikTok from their apps. The news that Chinese employees have direct access U.S. users data is a reason for this desire.
Popular podcaster Joe Rogan voiced similar concerns about privacy when he said that TikTok’s endgame is “China having all of your data” on his July 26 show. Rogan was furious at TikTok’s creepy privacy policy. It states that TikTok stores personal data.
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