A TikTok executive admitted Tuesday that Australian user data is accessible to the company’s employees in China. Will Farrell, TikTok’s head of data security, was questioned by Australian lawmakers about how often the data had been accessed in China during an appearance at a parliamentary committee scrutinizing foreign interference in social media. Farrell could not immediately provide a number but said that the data is accessible to TikTok staff in China on a “very strict basis,” adding that there are a “number of protections in place,” with approval needed from a U.S.-based global security team for any data access requests across national borders. “Employees can’t get access without a clear justification and levels of approval,” Farrell said. As in the U.S., Australia has banned the app on government devices over concerns about TikTok’s ties with China.
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