TikTok frantically working to move all US user data to the US, and put American staff in control

Chinese-owned TikTok is frantically working to move all data it holds on US users to the US, and putting an American team in control, according to reports. 

ByteDance, owner of the popular social video app, has launched Project Texas, which will also see an end to US employees reporting to its managers in Beijing. 

Efforts to bring data to the US started a year ago, with thousands of TikTok staff  involved in the effort, including limiting access to the data from outside the US.  

According to a BuzzFeed report, this is the way ByteDance has decided to handle concerns from US regulators that the Chinese government could use the app to access sensitive information on people living in the US.

As well as moving data, a number of core TikTok systems, including those that check how viral a video has become, will be cloned and operated from the US for the first time, and so will the algorithm that power the ‘For You’ page recommendations. 

TikTok has selected Oracle as its ‘trusted technology partner’ for Project Texas, and so all the data and systems will be housed and run from Oracle data centers.

The firm plans to replicate the process in Europe and elsewhere in the world, once the US rollout is complete, allowing specific regional control over data, while also allowing users to connect together internationally, experts explained.

TikTok has proved controversial since it launched in September 2016, rapidly becoming one of the most used, and influential social media services.

During his time in office, the app was heavily criticised by former President Donald Trump, often used as a punching bag in his war of words with China.

He threatened to have the app shut down in the US, but this never came about – however, concerns have remained, and come from regulators and politicians alike.

To try to combat these concerns, ByteDance is working to differentiate US services to those offered in China, where the Chinese government exerts control.

This is also part of Project Texas yet to be decided, according to reports – just how much control and influence the Beijing HQ of ByteDance will have over US operations. After all, it is still part of ByteDance, just managed independently.

Currently, staff in the US report to middle managers in the US, who then report to executives for ByteDance based in Beijing – the question is how far they can go in removing the Chinese management form the chain of command.

ByteDance, owner of the popular social video app, has launched Project Texas, which will also see an end to US employees reporting to its managers in Beijing

Apparently ByteDance is considering legal models that would restrict Chinese managers from accessing US data, while keeping them in the decision making process, insiders told BuzzFeed.

In a statement, TikTok said it is ‘committed to protecting the privacy and security of our community. User data is stored in data centers in the US and Singapore, and we continue to invest in data security as part of our overall work to keep our users and their information safe.’

The firm hasn’t made a statement on how far progressed talks are on creating a completely separate entity to govern US data, but it is likely to be a major piece of work for the firm, that could spread worldwide.

Since its inception, TikTok has faced being banned in various countries, blocked by firms and institutions, and threats of investigation over its Chinese ownership. 

In 2019, the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) began investigating whether TikTok posed a risk to national security.

The US Navy and Army banned TikTok from soldiers’ work phones the same year, and in 2020 Trump said he would ban the app if it wasn’t sold to a US firm.

While it hasn’t been sold, with a deal for Oracle to buy the US arm falling through last year, the deal for Oracle to manage all data is largely considered to be going far enough to ease concerns from regulators and politicians.

ByteDance has already taken some steps to keep US data separate, including splitting the teams working on TikTok, from those running Douyin, the Chinese equivalent, and the Oracle deal takes it a step further. 

It also comes as the Joe Biden administration is preparing legislation that would restrict how much access foreign-owned apps could have to US citizen data.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a supporter of Donald Trump, and staunch critic of Chinese interference, said she would still be concerned as long as ‘product developers and key decision makers’ are based in China.

‘TikTok is saying what they think will help them escape scrutiny from lawmakers, but that won’t happen as long as they remain the arm of the CCP,’ she told BuzzFeed.