WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is investigating the Chinese company that owns TikTok for its surveillance of American citizens, according to three people familiar with the matter, including several journalists who cover the tech industry.
The investigation, which began late last year, appears to be related to ByteDance’s admission in December that its employees improperly obtained data on U.S. TikTok users, including that of two journalists and some of their colleagues.
The department’s criminal division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia are investigating ByteDance, a Beijing-based company with close ties to the Chinese government, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
The investigation was confirmed as the White House strengthened its stance on pressing the company to address national security concerns about TikTok. These include concerns that China could use the popular video service to collect data on or spy on Americans, undermining democracy and fostering internet addiction among young people.
TikTok revealed this week that the Biden administration has asked its owners to sell the app — which is already blocked on government phones in the U.S., Europe and more than two dozen states — or face a possible nationwide ban.
federal criminal investigation is previously reported By Forbes Magazine. The reporter who wrote the story said she was one of the people whose data the company tracks.
ByteDance employees involved in the monitoring (later fired) are trying to find the source who allegedly leaked internal conversations and business documents to reporters. They obtained the IP addresses and other data of journalists and people they contacted through their TikTok accounts.
Two of the employees are in China. The company said it was making changes to prevent such breaches in the future.
But the company’s assurances haven’t quelled growing calls from politicians of both parties to block or ban the app.President Biden says he may support an effort to ban the app in the U.S., which is currently being considered in Congress
That represented a sea change over the past year, when some in the government expressed confidence in a compromise that would allow companies to continue operating in exchange for major changes to their data security and governance.
TikTok has been hoping a group of federal agencies known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approves its plans to operate in the country while still being owned by ByteDance.
But Lisa Monaco, the No. 2 at the Justice Department, did not sign off on a 90-page draft agreement, while the Treasury Department, which plays a key role in approving deals involving national security risks, said it would not agree on a possible deal. Skeptical sources said it would address national security concerns.
The White House now appears to be moving quickly in the other direction, with senior officials increasingly viewing divestment as the only acceptable path forward.
TikTok has a strong public relations and lobbying operation in Washington, and its officials said they were weighing options and expressed frustration at the pressure to sell.
The company said its security proposal, which involves storing the data of Americans in the United States, provides the best protection for users.
“If protecting national security is the goal, divestment is not the answer: the change in ownership will not impose any new restrictions on data flow or access,” TikTok spokeswoman Maureen Shanahan said in a statement this week. stated in the statement.
TikTok CEO Shouzi Zhou is scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee next week. He is expected to face questions about the app’s ties to China and concerns it provides harmful content to young people.
A spokesman for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but referred all questions to ByteDance.
A ByteDance spokesman did not respond. But she has told Forbes that the company “strongly condemns the actions of individuals found to be involved” and will “cooperate with any official investigation we receive.”
