Software developers based in China are writing the code for TikTok, triggering concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can access the data of more than one billion users worldwide, as well as force staff to silence dissenting voices, elevate pro-communist narratives, and sow seeds of division in democracies.
A code sample seen by the Australian Financial Review shows that engineers at TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, are linked to the software development, and while much of TikTok’s code is obfuscated—making it hard to tell what is going on—the sample appears to control broadcasting and moderation of live streaming.
Code samples correlated with the version of the popular video-sharing app used on Android devices show that at least a dozen email addresses with usernames were associated with ByteDance.
Open-source intelligence provided by the source confirms that many of these engineers are working in mainland China.
Many of the usernames and emails were found in posts asking for help fixing the code from other developers and engineers or as contacts for engineer and developer job ads. These ads include jobs in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu working on various ByteDance applications.
Some job ads also include the option to work in Singapore, where TikTok has increased hiring as proof to Western countries that the company is independent of ByteDance, the Beijing-based tech giant which has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Increasingly Alarmed
With the communist regime’s National Intelligence Law in 2017 requiring all organizations and citizens to “support, assist, and cooperate with the national intelligence efforts,” there are concerns that the CCP may force the app’s owners to share data.
James Paterson, shadow minister for home affairs and cyber security, argued that the code sample is more evidence that TikTok is made and managed in China, meaning that Beijing can access data of the app used by over one billion people worldwide.
“That matters because it means engineers working on it in China can access user data and are captured by the intelligence and security laws of the Chinese Communist Party,” he told the Financial Review.
“They could be compelled at any time to hand that data over to the Chinese government or make changes to the algorithm to please the CCP. And we would never know about it because they would be required to keep it all a secret.”
Paterson believes this would “allow the CCP to suppress content critical of their conduct, or elevate content supportive of their narrative, or just to sow division and disunity in our democracies.”
“We know they’ve tried to do this on Western headquarters platforms they don’t control, so it’s safe to assume they would do so on TikTok, which they do,” he said.
TikTok Australia General Manager Lee Hunter told The Epoch Times previously in an email that there is no evidence to suggest TikTok is a security risk.
“We are extremely disappointed by this decision, which, in our view, is driven by politics, not by fact. We are also disappointed that TikTok, and the millions of Australians who use it, were left to learn of this decision through the media, despite our repeated offers to engage with the government constructively about this policy,” Hunter said.
“Again, we stress that there is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should not be treated differently to other social media platforms.
TikTok Not Denying Relations with China
TikTok did not deny that the company’s employees in China were involved in the coding process.
“As we’ve stated publicly, we have product development and engineering teams all over the world – including in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Singapore, and China – collaborating to deliver the best product experience for our community,” a TikTok spokeswoman said.
“All changes to our code are tracked and logged, and we have multiple teams outside of China who write, update, and review the code every day.”
In July 2022, TikTok Australia admitted in a letter to Senator Paterson that its employees in mainland China could access the data of Australian users.
In response to the admission, Paterson said it was hard to believe that the Chinese regime would not have access given China’s national security laws.
“TikTok denies they would ever hand over data to the Chinese Communist Party, but this is very hard to believe, given their national security laws,” he wrote.
“Our millions of Australian users deserve a government which makes decisions based upon facts and who treats all businesses fairly, regardless of country of origin.”
In April, out of concern for data security, the Australian government announced it would ban TikTok on government devices.
Victoria Kelly-Clark and Daniel Teng contributed to this report.
