Leaked audio from 80+ internal TikTok meetings: ByteDance staff in China repeatedly accessed data about US TikTok users between September 2021 and January 2022

For years, TikTok has responded to data privacy concerns by promising that information gathered about users in the United States …

BuzzFeed News 2022-06-18 Emily Baker-White

Context & Ripple Effects

The leaked recordings put a concrete operational record behind TikTok's privacy assurances: China-based ByteDance staff accessed US-user information during the period described. TikTok subsequently told nine GOP senators that security-cleared China-based employees could access certain US-user information, an admission that narrowed the dispute to the scope and controls of that access.

Later coverage broadened the concern from isolated access to organizational design, including a reported plan to collect location data on specific US citizens and accounts that ByteDance's China and US TikTok operations remained intertwined. The story matters because it establishes the access pathway at the center of those later allegations.

First-order effects

TikTok and ByteDance face a direct credibility gap between their US-data privacy messaging and the recorded accounts of repeated China-based access.
US TikTok users' data handling becomes a governance issue for the company, rather than solely a question of where data is stored.

Second-order effects

TikTok's letter to senators makes access permissions, internal security clearance, and the categories of reachable data the focus of political scrutiny rather than a blanket denial of China-based access.
Later findings that ByteDance employees accessed US-user data while pursuing reporters' sources raise the stakes for any internal-access controls exposed by the recordings.

Third-order effects

The subsequent reporting on intertwined China-based ByteDance and US TikTok operations suggests that formal separation claims will be judged against reporting lines, data flows, and administrator access in practice.
If this pattern persists, cross-border consumer platforms will face pressure to make data-access boundaries independently auditable, not merely stated in policy.

The trend: TikTok's US-data debate is shifting from data-location assurances toward scrutiny of who can access data across a globally integrated corporate structure.

Discussion

@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Is TikTok destroying civilization? Some people think so.
@ebakerwhite Emily Baker-White on x
In the past week, I listened to recordings of more than 80 internal TikTok meetings about Project Texas, the company's effort to restrict access to US user data. TLDR: TikTok has been having a really hard time shutting down Chinese access to this info. https://www.buzzfeednews.co…
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
TikTok announces it's now storing US user data on Oracle cloud servers and that “100% of US user traffic” is being hosted by Oracle. Backups are still stored on TikTok's own servers in the US and Singapore for now, but those will eventually be deleted: https://newsroom.tiktok.com…
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
Possible to believe both that (1) the Trump attempt to ban TikTok was bullshit and problematic and (2) TikTok is a dangerous app to install on your phone. https://twitter.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Or perhaps social media in general
@eladnehorai Elad Nehorai on x
This is definitely a Bad Thing, but it's bizarre we make a big deal only of this when big tech has so much of our data, actively uses it against us, and once an authoritarian government is in control will likely be used to target us in worse ways than China ever could. https://tw…
@irltho @irltho on x
“fuck, I cant believe the CCP has my TikTok info!” he angrily mutters under his breath while he closes FB on his Google Pixel. As he asks Alexa to turn off his Smartthings Light Bulb, a Ring video doorbell notification pops up on his Samsung Smart TV. His 23andme kit has arrived.…
@niubi Bill Bishop on x
Did a tiktok executive commit perjury in testimony to congress? Or just a misunderstanding? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rabois Keith Rabois on x
Warned you about this. https://twitter.com/...
@sahilbloom Sahil Bloom on x
@rabois Scary scenario for me would be the ability to make subtle tweaks to the algorithm and effectively control the minds of a lot of people. We already know tech companies are capable of it, but when it's wielded as a weapon in a Hot or Cold War, that's scary.
@eileenguo Eileen Guo on x
This is a wild scoop with so many WTF sections, including this: “4 of the recordings contain conversations in which employees responsible for certain internal tools could not figure out what parts of those tools did.” https://twitter.com/...
@chinalawtransl8 @chinalawtransl8 on x
The article is better than the headline. As I see it, folks reading this as 'Trump was right", are seriously misunderstanding the concerns surrounding the proposed tiktok ban. ... https://twitter.com/...
@dangrover Dan Grover on x
Having worked on privacy infra before, I feel for them. You'd think it'd be simple, but there are a 100 shades of gray in what you mean by “US user”, what you mean by “user data”, what you mean by “from”, and what you mean by “China”, and how purpose/scope of use plays into it. h…
@adamkovac Adam Kovacevich on x
1. It's clear that TikTok's US employees have recognized China's access to US user data is long term prob for the company, and have been working to fix it. But also... 2. They probably can't, because they'll never know what back door access Chinese employees have https://twitter.…
@sentedcruz Senator Ted Cruz on x
Every single time TikTok gets asked questions about their ties to the CCP, they desperately dodge. This is why. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@sahilbloom Sahil Bloom on x
@rabois The fact that the government spends time and taxpayer dollars blocking American tech companies from completing tiny M&A deals but then does nothing about China controlling the data of millions of young Americans is probably one of the most under-reported stories of our ti…
@mattdpearce Matt Pearce on x
“Ultimately, the tapes suggest that the company may have misled lawmakers, its users, and the public by downplaying that data stored in the US could still be accessed by employees in China.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
This is an important report. Competitive tech press should share it. And a friendly reminder pls avoid sharing blog posts from major platforms without context. another very prominent reporter shared TikTok's post (aka press release) helping them front run Emily's report. https://…
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
We're gonna do summer 2020 all over again https://twitter.com/...
@jimmyjazz1968 Gore Vidal Sassoon on x
Multiple Chinese data analysts hospitalized after seeing hundreds of uncoordinated teens do ‘The Griddy’ https://twitter.com/...
@sonnybunch Sonny Bunch on x
seriously folks don't download the chinese spyware to your phone https://twitter.com/...
@philipletsou Philip Letsou on x
Whoops: “Everything is seen in China,” said a member of TikTok's Trust and Safety department in a September 2021 meeting. In another September meeting, a director referred to one Beijing-based engineer as a “Master Admin” who “has access to everything.” https://twitter.com/...
@kschwabable Katharine Schwab on x
Leaked audio from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings shows that China-based employees of ByteDance have repeatedly accessed nonpublic data about US TikTok users. “Everything is seen in China,” said a member of TikTok's Trust and Safety department in one Sept 2021 meeting. http…
@bznotes Bilal Zuberi on x
China has instrumented a hundreds ways to get data on US industry and consumers. Question is not: “are they doing it?” Question is: “what are we going to do about it?” https://twitter.com/...
@davidmackau David Mack on x
“according to leaked audio from 80+ internal TikTok meetings, China-based employees of ByteDance have repeatedly accessed nonpublic data about US TikTok users — exactly the type of behavior that inspired Trump to threaten to ban the app” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ... @ebakerw…
@kjplotkin Kyle Plotkin on x
This is unsurprising and there should be outrage in Congress about this report. TikTok has repeatedly said they do not share user data with China. They lied. https://twitter.com/...
@gadyepstein Gady Epstein on x
“I feel like with these tools, there's some backdoor to access user data in almost all of them,” said an external auditor hired to help TikTok close off Chinese access to sensitive information https://twitter.com/...
@profcarroll David Carroll on x
Let's say you're someone who says “who cares” “nothing to hide” ok but do you care that these leaks indicate that the company behind TikTok is being dishonest? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@markdistef Mark Di Stefano on x
Thats one way to front run this huge scoop. https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
This happened because Trump demanded TikTok be sold. Even though TikTok wasn't sold. https://twitter.com/...
@guypbenson Guy Benson on x
obvious but still concerning https://twitter.com/...
@ebakerwhite Emily Baker-White on x
Some of you may have noticed that TikTok put up a blog post this morning about their US data practices! It was published just about exactly at the deadline we had given them for comment for this story. We will certainly have some follow-up questions. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/…
@profcarroll David Carroll on x
Noticed it two years ago. https://t.co/qSRIMUTobD https://t.co/7GqhrMs2nn
@quinnypig Corey Quinn on x
“Where the servers are” is one of the greatest misdirections in government regulation. I promise, I don't care whether the S3 bucket I'm pulling data from is in Ohio, Jakarta, or Frankfurt; my experience is identical. https://twitter.com/...
@tiktokcomms @tiktokcomms on x
In line with our ongoing commitment to further safeguard user data, minimize data transfers and enhance personal data protections, we recently created a new in-house department to manage TikTok's US user data. Learn more: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ...
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
This seems bad, but the bigger problem with TikTok isn't Chinese access to the user data it's Chinese control over the programming. https://www.slowboring.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@thatjeffsmith @thatjeffsmith on x
Whoa. “Today, 100% of US user traffic is being routed to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.” Nice work @OracleCloud and hello @tiktok_us ! https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ...
@rmedranollamas @rmedranollamas on x
And what? We should stop thinking about the location of the servers and start thinking about who can access the control plane and the guarantees of data movement. No one gives a damn about your server being in Madrid if the operator can pull data from Beijing without consent. htt…
@nbashaw Nathan Baschez on x
@mattyglesias Idk how you could run an internet service without accessing data—it's likely nothing more nefarious than learning what they can in order to get people to spend more time creating and consuming content Still tho, it's a significant power in the hands of an adversary,…
@surcomplicated @surcomplicated on x
@mattyglesias @Noahpinion Remember, at one point they literally found a keylogger in TikTok.
@jerrydunleavy Jerry Dunleavy on x
LOL TikTok knew this story was coming so that's why they published this long statement on their company blog earlier today https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@trevorcroker Trevor Croker on x
“...we expect to delete US users' private data from our own data centers and fully pivot to Oracle cloud servers located in the US” Such comforting words. https://twitter.com/...
@karlbode Karl Bode on x
ah yes, that trustworthy bastion that is Oracle, one of the sleaziest lobbying companies in tech, whose CEO was keen on dismantling democracy https://www.reuters.com/...

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