TikTok Spied On Forbes Journalists (forbes.com) 59
ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor three journalists' physical location using their IP addresses, reports Forbes, "to unearth the source of leaks inside the company following a drumbeat of stories exposing the company's ongoing links to China."
As a result of the investigation into the surveillance tactics, ByteDance fired Chris Lepitak, its chief internal auditor who led the team responsible for them. The China-based executive Song Ye, who Lepitak reported to and who reports directly to ByteDance CEO Rubo Liang, resigned.... "It is standard practice for companies to have an internal audit group authorized to investigate code of conduct violations," TikTok General Counsel Erich Andersen wrote in a second internal email shared with Forbes. "However, in this case individuals misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data...."
"This new development reinforces serious concerns that the social media platform has permitted TikTok engineers and executives in the People's Republic of China to repeatedly access private data of U.S. users despite repeated claims to lawmakers and users that this data was protected," Senator Mark Warner told Forbes....
ByteDance is not the first tech giant to use an app to monitor specific users. In 2017, the New York Times reported that Uber had identified various local politicians and regulators and served them a separate, misleading version of the Uber app to avoid regulatory penalties.... Both Uber and Facebook also reportedly tracked the location of journalists reporting on their apps.
Ironically, TikTok's journalist-tracking project involved the company's Chief Security and Privacy Office, according to Forbes, and targeted three Forbes journalists who had formerly worked at BuzzFeed News.
It was back in October that Forbes first reported ByteDance had discussed tracking journallists. ByteDance had immediately denied the charges on Twitter, saying "TikTok has never been used to 'target' any members of the U.S. government, activists, public figures or journalists," and that "TikTok could not monitor U.S. users in the way the article suggested."
Forbes also notes that in 2021, TikTok became the most visited website in the world.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader newbie_fantod for submitting the story!
"This new development reinforces serious concerns that the social media platform has permitted TikTok engineers and executives in the People's Republic of China to repeatedly access private data of U.S. users despite repeated claims to lawmakers and users that this data was protected," Senator Mark Warner told Forbes....
ByteDance is not the first tech giant to use an app to monitor specific users. In 2017, the New York Times reported that Uber had identified various local politicians and regulators and served them a separate, misleading version of the Uber app to avoid regulatory penalties.... Both Uber and Facebook also reportedly tracked the location of journalists reporting on their apps.
Ironically, TikTok's journalist-tracking project involved the company's Chief Security and Privacy Office, according to Forbes, and targeted three Forbes journalists who had formerly worked at BuzzFeed News.
It was back in October that Forbes first reported ByteDance had discussed tracking journallists. ByteDance had immediately denied the charges on Twitter, saying "TikTok has never been used to 'target' any members of the U.S. government, activists, public figures or journalists," and that "TikTok could not monitor U.S. users in the way the article suggested."
Forbes also notes that in 2021, TikTok became the most visited website in the world.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader newbie_fantod for submitting the story!
Its the wild west (Score:5, Insightful)
We need regulation. Actual regulation. And actual rights to privacy online. Every tech company is merely a front for data collection to sell ads or spy on you. This is NOT the way (forward).
FYI (Score:5, Informative)
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(parent post modded down for exposing the truth!)
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(parent post modded down for exposing the truth!)
Welcome to /. :-)
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Re:Its the wild west (Score:4, Interesting)
Indeed. Here is an example the US could use, which already works and where some experience is present with it: https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ [gdpr.eu]
But I guess greed (usually falsely claimed to be "capitalism") will win out.
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Tiktok is dual-use technology.
Describe your proposed legislation that accepts and counters this basic premise.
Re: Its the wild west (Score:2)
In other news: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:In other news: (Score:4, Interesting)
Not a single story has appeared on Slashdot about the massive Twitter bombshells being exposed in the past couple weeks either. Shining light on such spying topics was one of the reasons Slashdot was founded and now total silence.
Re: In other news: (Score:4, Informative)
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Not sure what you're trying to prove but what great revelation do you think we'll get from an endless string of stories about two disruptive tech companies on a site where precisely those stories are core to the reader's interests?
Re: In other news: (Score:2)
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It got Joe elected (Score:2, Insightful)
Not a single story has appeared on Slashdot about the massive Twitter bombshells being exposed in the past couple weeks either. Shining light on such spying topics was one of the reasons Slashdot was founded and now total silence.
Saying that the twitter releases are bombshells is not underselling the issues. Saying that the twitter releases are worse than Watergate is *also* not underselling things - the twitter revelations are much, much worse than Watergate and show clear constitutional violations by the government.
The subject falls precisely on the issues of "your rights" and "online", and should have lead to a vigorous debate on slashdot, but somehow the editors decided that's not a debate worth having.
My best guess, the one rea
Re:It got Joe elected (Score:5, Insightful)
A significant portion of the country seems to want to be told what to think and believe, hell, they seem to want others (who make them feel good) to do all the actual thinking for them. Critical Thinking is just too hard.
Couldn't have described the MAGA movement better -- especially that part about critical thinking -- thanks!
Re:It got Joe elected (Score:5, Interesting)
Right. Orange Man Bad. Got it.
Evidence seems to indicate that he is ... If you can't see that, you're part of the problem.
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Orange man told us he understands that the system is corrupt because he's been taking advantage of corruption in the system, in so many words. He literally told us he was one of the bad guys.
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Of course he uses actual evidence and provides links to what he's talking about. He doesn't just whine about it "stopping Trump becoming president" like Twitter has any role in that happening.
You Trump people are beyond stupid.
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Someone who uses evidence and posts links to what he is talking about.
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Rudy says give him a minute. He's pretty sure there's some evidence down there somewhere.
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Amazing how quickly the right vacillates between nobody could possibly influence the outcome of an election (when Trump wins), to elections being putty in the hands of outside influence (when Trump loses.)
Re:In other news: (Score:5, Informative)
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Right, we just had half the Congress capitulate to a naked attempt at installing a dictator, but the "biggest scandal in the history of the country" is somebody got banned on Twitter.
Where can I get more of this amazing analysis? Perhaps on Twitter? Well shoot, I've never had an account. Guess I'll just stay here in fantasy land.
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And by the way, the reason you're losing relevance is because of retardation like this. No mind control necessary.
We see what you are, and we see what you want.
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Indeed, Musk used Twitter data to spy on journalists, and even have access to bloggers and other randos he was seeking advice from. Access included PMs with potentially sensitive sources.
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Whataboutism.
Re: In other news: (Score:2)
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Oh yeah, I remember you, you're the CCP apologist!
Let's layout the differences:
* Facebook didn't target individuals, let alone journalists that gave them bad press. TikTok did.
* Facebook didn't report back to hostile political party in an authoritarian nation. TikTok did.
Now for the commonalities:
* Both are shitty companies that make the world a worse place.
* Both are suck up a shitload of information about everyone they can.
* Both are a massive waste of time.
Re:In other news: (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh yeah, I remember you, you're the CCP apologist!
Let's layout the differences:
* Facebook didn't target individuals, let alone journalists that gave them bad press. TikTok did.
* Facebook didn't report back to hostile political party in an authoritarian nation. TikTok did.
Unless I remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal entirely wrong, Facebook did both.
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The vast America corporation I work makes nearly $1 billion in profits from China every year and the shareholders are happy about that.
They care not at all about Tik Tok, because why would they?
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What I am wondering is how many of these people trying to influence public opinion here are paid shills and how many are useful idiots. Well, given that Slashdot is slowly dying, probably all useful idiots.
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No, I'm just ranting about the support (by USA) of a military coup here in Brazil in 1964 [wikipedia.org] (something like it occurred in several Latin America, African and Middle-East countries in the past: how to not hate USA?)
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The real question is why does the USA even enter the discussion? This is about the CCP.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Fixed that for you:
Facebook spies on many people (some of them journalists) around the world
They have just gotten a bit more careful.
What's even worse... (Score:2)
TikTok also places a disgustingly awful animated watermark over the top of all your videos. How people were able to accept it and allow the platform to become successful, I have no idea.
Misleading (Score:2)
Why is this just now becoming an issue? (Score:3)
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I recall reading an in-depth article perhaps a year ago, detailing how Tik Tok collects user data beyond all reasonable need. Now, it's suddenly an issue?
Why don't you recall all of the discussion in and out of government in between then and now? Just fellation of a pooh bear?
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the minute of hate vs China.
Also - if you keep accusing other parties of doing something, when you are eventually caught out doing the same people pretty much ignore it since it's US not THEM.
Go google, facebook, twitter (Score:2)
Physical location via IP address? (Score:1)
Forbes' journalists don't have VPNs? (Score:2)
Too cheap or too stupid?
Perhaps Forbes' journalists aren't journalists (Score:2)
Good clickbait (Score:2)
Bad when China Does it, Fine when We Do it. (Score:1)
the hypocrisy being used to brainwash a generation of people so they will not think twice when a war with China is started.
Nothing wrong with this. (Score:2)
TikTok was under attack from those journalists. There is nothing wrong with investigating those who are investigating you. That is nothing more than self defense.
Keep. Your. Hands. Off. TikTok!