ByteDance is reportedly below investigation for surveillance of US journalists

In December, ByteDance confirmed that 4 workers who had used TikTok to spy on the places 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 dealing with mounting strain to in TikTok. The corporate confirmed that US officers have mentioned 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, notably in gentle of ByteDance’s acknowledgement that workers had inappropriately accessed the info of US customers.The total extent of legislation enforcement’s investigation into the incident is unclear however, in response to Forbes, ByteDance has obtained subpoenas from the DoJ. The FBI has additionally carried out interviews associated to the matter, although it’s not clear if the 2 are a part of the identical investigation.

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