Chinese Communist Party Tracked Hong Kong Protesters Through Data

A former executive of ByteDance has accused the Chinese Communist Party of using data held by the company to identify and locate protesters in Hong Kong in a legal case at the San Francisco Supreme Court. Yintao Yu, a former executive at ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the popular app TikTok, stated that some members of the ruling Communist Party used the company's data to identify and find Hong Kong protesters while also having access to user data in the U.S. According to an Associated Press report from Hong Kong, he claimed in documents submitted to the court that ByteDance has the credentials of a 'super user'; an advantage that allows a special committee of Communist Party members stationed at the company to view all data collected by ByteDance, including data from American users. Current company executives have denied the allegations. The lawsuit claims that this credential acts as a 'backdoor' to bypass any barriers ByteDance had put in place to protect data from the scrutiny of the Communist Party. However, ByteDance issued a statement calling Yu's allegations 'baseless' and stated that 'his actions are clearly aimed at attracting media attention.' Hong Kong, a former British colony, is a semi-autonomous region of China with its own independent government. In recent years, following widespread protests in 2014 and 2019, the region has come under increased control from Beijing. In this context, any user attempting to access TikTok from within Hong Kong will receive a message stating, 'We regret to inform you that we have ceased TikTok operations in Hong Kong.' The management of data on TikTok and concerns that it poses a national security risk have led the U.S. and other countries to impose strict oversight on the app. Several U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that TikTok's connection to ByteDance means that the data it holds is subject to Chinese laws. They also claim that TikTok, with over 150 million active users monthly in the U.S. and over one billion users worldwide, could be used to expand China's influence. The Hill, the official newsletter of the U.S. Congress, referred to TikTok last year as China's 'Trojan Horse' to dominate other countries. Threats of repression against protesters in China. Report by Masoud Malek. Increased security measures in Hong Kong on the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen crackdown. The first defendant in a national security case in Hong Kong was sentenced to nine years in prison. The only remaining pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong has ceased operations.