During a parliamentary committee’s investigation into foreign interference on social media, TikTok executives acknowledged on Tuesday that the company’s employees in China have the ability to access Australian user data. The video-sharing platform openly admitted to accessing the data of Australian users in China during the questioning.
The UK government has imposed a fine of $16 million on TikTok accusing it of mishandling children’s data on the platform. Britain’s privacy watchdog has been investigating the video sharing platform for years and has said that TikTok allowed minors to use the platform, violating its own rules.
Amid global security concerns about the Chinese-owned app, some democrat lawmakers are firmly against banning TikTok. A week ago, TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew, faced four and a half hours of questioning at the US congressional hearing where the CEO was thrown at uncomfortable questions whether or not TikTok is safe for American users.
Former Trump official said that the video sharing platform TikTok is cocaine amid serious western allegations against the app. Keith Krach, the undersecretary of State for economic growth, in the former President Trump administration argued that TikTok preys on children due to the way it is programmed.
The video-sharing platform is set to limit its screen time for users who are under 18. The users will not be able to use TikTok for more than one hour. TikTok said that they are going to implement the new policy to make sure people stay in control while using the app.
