China-owned TikTok denies it could use location information to track U.S. users

TikTok connected Friday denied that it utilized circumstantial determination information to way definite U.S. individuals, pushing backmost against a Forbes study that alleged the Chinese-owned video app was readying connected carrying retired specified monitoring.

On Thursday, Forbes published an nonfiction alleging TikTok, which is owned by Chinese steadfast ByteDance, planned to usage its app "to show the idiosyncratic determination of immoderate circumstantial American citizens," citing materials viewed by the publication.

Other allegations include:

• The monitoring is carried retired by TikTok genitor ByteDance's Internal Audit and Risk Control section whose person reports straight to the CEO.
• The section chiefly conducts investigations into misconduct by employees but it besides planned connected an juncture to cod determination information astir a U.S. national who ne'er worked astatine the company.

The Forbes nonfiction besides said that its unclear whether immoderate information was really collected.

TikTok deed backmost astatine the nonfiction successful a bid of tweets claiming it lacks "both rigor and journalistic integrity."

TikTok said Forbes "chose not to see the information of our connection that disproved the feasibility of its halfway allegation: TikTok does not cod precise GPS determination accusation from US users, meaning TikTok could not show US users successful the mode the nonfiction suggested."

TikTok added that its app has ne'er been utilized to "target" immoderate members of the U.S. government, activists, nationalist figures oregon journalists.

Forbes was not instantly disposable for remark erstwhile contacted by CNBC.

TikTok has had a investigating mates of years successful the U.S. ever since erstwhile President Donald Trump ordered the app to divest its U.S. business claiming it threatened nationalist security. Washington has been acrophobic that information collected connected U.S. citizens by TikTok could get into the hands of the Chinese government.

In July, TiKTok CEO Shou Zi Chew admitted that "employees extracurricular the U.S., including China-based employees, tin person entree to TikTok U.S. idiosyncratic information taxable to a bid of robust cybersecurity controls and authorization support protocols overseen by our U.S.-based information team."

But the institution said astatine the clip it was undertaking a large inaugural called Project Texas, which is intended to "fully safeguard idiosyncratic information and U.S. nationalist information interests." This includes storing each U.S. information by default successful Oracle's cloud.