TikTok Says the App Has Never Been Used to Track US Individuals

• TikTok says the app has never been used to target specific individuals in the US government.
• Its parent ByteDance planned to use the app to monitor the locations of some Americans, Forbes reported.
• TikTok has been caught in debates about privacy and security under in the US.

On Friday, TikTok denied that it has ever been used to target specific individuals, such as members of the US government, activists, public figures, or journalists.

The social media platform tweeted the denial after Forbes reported on October 20 that ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent, planned to use the app to monitor the locations of certain Americans.

In the Twitter thread, TikTok wrote that its internal audit team adheres to policies and processes when they need to obtain information to conduct internal investigations into violations of the company’s code of conduct. But “any use of internal audit resources as alleged by Forbes would be grounds for immediate dismissal of company personnel,” the company wrote.

TikTok also took issue with how Forbes did not include its statement that “TikTok does not collect precise GPS location information from US users, meaning TikTok could not monitor US users in the way the article suggested.”

TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said the app collects approximate location information based on the IP addresses of users, Forbes reported.

TikTok has been caught in debates surrounding privacy and security under the administrations of former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden over concerns that the company could be influenced by Beijing.