MPs in uproar as Parliament sets up a TikTok account

A TIKTOK account set up for Parliament has sparked uproar among senior Tory MPs sanctioned by China.

Concerns have been raised that the social media giant might be sharing user data with its Chinese parent company Bytedance.

A letter has been sent to the Speakers of both houses calling for the account, which was set up on Wednesday, to be deleted.

Among the signatories are ex-Tory leader Sir Iain duncan Smith, chairman of the foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat, and vice chairman of the 1922 committee Nus Ghani. All three were last year sanctioned by the Chinese government, for ‘maliciously spreading lies and disinformation’ about human rights abuses in China.

The letter expresses doubt over reassurances given by TikTok executives to MPs that its user data is not shared with Bytedance, according to wesbite Politico. Under China’s National Intelligence law, companies in the country are obliged to hand over data to government authorities on request.

TikTok bosses have repeatedly assured MPs they do not hand over user data to Chinese authorities. However, a leaked recording obtained by Buzzfeed last month revealed that US user data had been accessed repeatedly from China.

The letter claims that the company may have misled Parliament over the matter. Other parts of government including No 10 already have TikTok accounts.

A spokesman for Parliament said it would respond to the letter in due course, adding: ‘We undertook all necessary steps to ensure none of our data is at risk.’ TikTok said the letter contained ‘factual inaccuracies’, insisting: ‘We have never provided user data to the Chinese government.’