China’s access to TikTok data violates privacy law, experts say

• Nando Kastelein

  Tech publisher

TikTok’s Chinese employees have access to European user data from today. TikTok’s approach to this violates European privacy rules. This was stated by three lawyers, who at the request of the NOS have read the updated privacy information of the platform.

It is unclear what data these employees have access to. Despite several requests, TikTok does not want to clarify this. It’s also unclear which employees have these rights.

TikTok uses a so-called “standard contract” to allow access from China, among others. “This in itself is a tool approved by the European Commission,” says Gerrit-Jan Zwenne, professor of privacy law at Leiden University. “But Europe’s top court has ruled that there must be additional safeguards, which I don’t see with TikTok.”

The NOS yesterday afternoon asked TikTok for a response to the lawyers’ conclusions. The company has not yet responded to the matter. In its privacy terms, TikTok writes that access is “limited and secure” and “allowed only as necessary under strict security requirements and an authorization protocol.” The data itself is stored in the United States and Singapore. A European place comes next year.

The popular video app, part of the Chinese company ByteDance, is only active outside of China. Being Chinese-made, there have long been concerns about the power the government might have over this app. Former President Trump even tried to ban the app from the US in 2020. Data access applies to employees in eleven countries outside the EU, but access in China is by far the most delicate.

“TikTok can only allow employees in China to access data from European users if it doesn’t compromise privacy,” says Pieter Wolters, senior lecturer in civil law at Radboud University. “That cannot be argued in the case of China. After all, it is very likely that TikTok will give the Chinese government access to personal data.”

The platform itself says it has never shared data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked. Chinese specialist Frans-Paul van der Putten of the Clingendael Institute points out that it is not in TikTok’s best interests to hand over the data to the Chinese government, but since the country will see TikTok as a Chinese company, it can request access to the data. of national security.

TikTok is growing faster than all known social media in the Netherlands. Data from research agency Newcom from the beginning of this year shows that three million Dutch people are active on TikTok. Half of them are active on a daily basis. The actual number of users is probably even higher: Newcom surveys the population aged 15 and over. TikTok is also very popular with kids.

The privacy adjustment was for ChristenUnie Congressman Don Ceder last month reason to ask for a ban of the app. He believes that children are not protected enough.

According to Mathieu Paapst, assistant professor of computer science and privacy law at the University of Groningen, a ban is unrealistic. “We don’t have a history of software bans. So you very quickly come to the question: why not TikTok and Instagram? I think that banning will be very difficult and that the solution should be sought more in the awareness and through the actions of the regulators”.

A spokesman for the Dutch data protection authority could not comment on the lawyers’ opinion. The Irish privacy watchdog is currently investigating exactly this matter on behalf of all EU supervisors, and the Dutch privacy watchdog cannot predict this. The search for the Irish should be ready early next year.