So evidence for Chinese espionage via TikTok?

Some have long been convinced that the Chinese government is spying on dancing citizens of other countries worldwide. Yes, TikTok grabs a lot of data from your phone. A lot more than you would reasonably think is necessary. The question of whether the Chinese government has access to ByteDance’s servers is likely much more of a yes than a no. Yet direct government espionage via the app has never been proven. Will that change now?

Ex-employee files lawsuit

Yintao Yu is suing his former employer ByteDance in the state of California for what he calls a wrongful dismissal. Yu previously made a number of claims that have been circulating for some time. But never before through a (former) employee of the company.

According to Yu, the Chinese government has made extensive use of the data TikTok collects to gain insight into protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2018. The inhabitants of the former British crown colony have for years resisted Beijing’s plans to further integrate the autonomous region into greater China. Which for the Hongkongers is mainly characterized by the loss of a lot of personal freedoms.

The Chinese government seems to have used a so-called “backdoor”. This is to gain access to the locations of, and messages between, activists. It’s a claim that ties in seamlessly with the fears American lawmakers have been expressing for much longer. For example, in Montana, where the state recently banned TikTok, a move that ByteDance is challenging.

So far no evidence for claims

Yu has not yet provided any evidence for the claims made. Claims that, unsurprisingly, are vehemently contradicted by ByteDance. The statement was made under oath, which gives some credibility. If the former employee turns out to have lied, he exposes himself to criminal prosecution. Typically, you would expect such claims to be supported by documentation, internal messaging, or raw data.

According to Yu, he has seen reports proving that members of a special government commission have accessed the app themselves in a way that bypasses all security settings.

“The commission and outside investigators have used god credentials to identify protesters, civil rights activists and sympathizers and see their location.” Yu says. “From the reporting I can see that such data has been viewed.” It is not known whether this report will be made public.

Worries about TikTok exaggerated or not?

It is not difficult to understand the narrative being propagated by American politicians as yet another excess of the ongoing “culture war.” Governments spy on both citizens and politicians, we have known that for a long time. Companies abuse user data, including American companies. If you ask me, the fact that ByteDance is now being handled in this way seems to have more to do with internal politics than a genuine fear for the safety of one’s own citizen.

That is not to say that there is no threat from ByteDance and per extension the Chinese government. Abuses such as Yu claims have taken place have never been substantiated, but no one doubts that it is possible. If Yu’s claims are substantiated, it will certainly lead to a lot of international commotion. Yes, this is an internal matter, but such evidence will remove any doubts from the region and use of the app outside of China will be further restricted. Whether TikTok is a harmless app or a government spy program is kind of Schrödinger’s cat. We won’t know for sure until someone opens the box.

Whether providing evidence will lead to broader legislation that generally makes it more difficult for governments and companies to misuse user data (a distinction that is decidedly more vague in China than elsewhere), or whether it will remain specific to measures for ByteDance remains the ‘million dollar question’ for now.