Social media platform TikTok has revealed that staff in China can access UK and European user account data.

In a statement on Wednesday, the social media giant unveiled new privacy updates detailing how the company shares user information outside of Europe and how the platform collects data.

The company confirmed that user data could also be accessed by TikTok staff in Brazil, Canada and Israel, as well as the US and Singapore, where European user data is currently stored.

Elaine Fox, TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe said the new updates aim to ensure a more enjoyable experience for users and to improve app transparency.

“In order to operate a global platform designed for sharing joyful content, we rely on a global workforce to ensure that our community’s TikTok experience is consistent, enjoyable and safe,” she said.

Fox added that the platform employs “robust security controls” and “approval protocols” which adhere to GDPR guidelines.

“TikTok strives to be open and transparent about how we collect and process our users’ information. We’ll continue to work to earn and build trust with our community with updates centred on transparency into our data practices,” she said.

Lingering privacy concerns

The announcement comes amid long-running concerns over user data privacy and Chinese government links to TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance.

Bytedance has consistently denied it is controlled or influenced by the Chinese government.

However, these denials have failed to satisfy regulators in the US and Europe. And earlier this week, officials in the US called for the app to be banned.

In an interview with Axios, Brendan Carr, the senior Republican representative on the Federal Communications Commission, insisted that US authorities should consider a ban.

“I don’t believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban,” he said.

A probe into TikTok security is currently being carried out by the US Committee on Foreign Investments.

In response to Carr’s comments, a spokesperson for TikTok told Axios: “Commissioner Carr has no role in the confidential discussions with the U.S. government related to TikTok and appears to be expressing views independent of his role as an FCC commissioner.”

TikTok added that it is confident it will reach an agreement with the US Government that will “satisfy all reasonable national security concerns”.

A report from Forbes last month sparked fresh security concerns amid claims that the app was used to “target” US citizens.

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In Europe, TikTok has been investigated by The Irish Data Protection Commission over privacy issues.

The watchdog is examining how TikTok processes children’s personal data, and whether it has adhered to EU laws on transferring personal information.

Similarly, last month the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office said the platform could face a £27m fine after a separate probe found the company may have breached UK data protection laws.

According to the ICO, an investigation into TikTok found that it failed to adequately protect children’s privacy when using the video-sharing platform.

The regulator says the company may have processed data belonging to children under the age of 13 without parental consent and processed special category data “without the legal grounds to do so”.

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