Letter to the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly MP Concerning TikTok And Data Protection Issues
Dear James,
I write in relation to the disturbing news about new data protection issues concerning TikTok.
It was reported by BBC earlier today that TikTok has informed its users that some of its workers in China have access to the data of accounts in the UK and European Union. As reported, TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe, Elaine Fox, is quoted to have said that TikTok ‘allow certain employees within [their] corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States remote access to TikTok European user data.’ (Full report here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63494951)
In the US, officials are calling for the app to be banned.
The UK Parliament closed down its TikTok account in August after we raised the issue of the data being shared with the Chinese government.
TikTok is further being investigated in a number of countries, including Ireland.
What advice to the people of the UK will the Government be issuing to warn them about the risks associated with posting information on TikTok?
Also, as the UK will be hosting the Ministerial conference on PSVI in only a few weeks, what advice will the Government be giving to its attendees in relation to posting any conference related information on TikTok, especially considering that there will be many vulnerable survivors among the attendees. Will the Government ban the use of TikTok at the conference to protect the survivors from the risk of the data being exploited?
I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.
I am copying in House of Lords Ministers along with Tom Tugendhat MP, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP and Baroness Kennedy KC.
Yours sincerely,
David
Lord ALTON of Liverpool
