Justice Department investigating TikTok parent company ByteDance for possible spying on U.S. citizens
CBSN
Washington — The Justice Department is investigating TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, for possible spying on U.S. citizens, including journalists, CBS News has confirmed.
News of the probe comes as U.S. lawmakers have ramped up calls for action against the widely popular social media app over ByteDance's ties to China and national security concerns about the collection of user data. The Biden administration is mulling a possible nationwide TikTok ban if ByteDance does not divest itself from the app, TikTok confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday.
Emily Baker-White, a journalist for Forbes who says she was one of reporters who had their TikTok data improperly accessed by ByteDance, was the first to report the federal investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment Friday.
