ByteDance is reportedly below investigation for surveillance of US journalists

In December, ByteDance confirmed that 4 staff who had used TikTok to spy on the areas of two journalists. Now, Forbes that the FBI and the Division of Justice have been investigating the incident.

Information of the investigation comes at a second when ByteDance is going through mounting stress to in TikTok. The corporate confirmed that US officers have stated that TikTok will face a doable ban in the US if ByteDance doesn’t separate itself from the video app.

TikTok critics in Congress have beforehand raised questions in regards to the app’s surveillance ways, significantly in gentle of ByteDance’s acknowledgement that staff had inappropriately accessed the info of US customers.The total extent of regulation enforcement’s investigation into the incident is unclear however, based on Forbes, ByteDance has acquired subpoenas from the DoJ. The FBI has additionally performed interviews associated to the matter, although it’s not clear if the 2 are a part of the identical investigation.

“We’ve got strongly condemned the actions of the people discovered to have been concerned, and they’re now not employed at ByteDance,” a ByteDance spokesperson stated in a press release. “Our inner investigation remains to be ongoing, and we are going to cooperate with any official investigations when dropped at us.”