TikTok moves US user data to Oracle servers amid concerns over China
- The move comes as US media reports that such data was repeatedly accessed by China-based ByteDance staff, according to leaked audio from internal meetings
- The popular video-sharing platform had previously stored its US user data at its own facilities in Virginia, with a backup in Singapore
TikTok said it has completed migrating information on its US users to servers at Oracle Corp, in a move that could address US regulatory concerns over data integrity on the popular short video app.
The move comes nearly two years after a US national security panel ordered parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed on to China’s communist government.
BuzzFeed News reported on Friday said that such data had been repeatedly accessed by China-based ByteDance employees, according to leaked audio from over 80 internal TikTok meetings obtained by the outlet.
In a brief statement to BuzzFeed, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We know we’re among the most scrutinised platforms from a security standpoint, and we aim to remove any doubt about the security of US user data.
“That’s why we hire experts in their fields, continually work to validate our security standards, and bring in reputable, independent third parties to test our defences.”
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TikTok is one of the world’s most popular social media apps, with more than 1 billion active users globally, and counts the US as its largest market.