TikTok tells European users its staff in China get access to their data

TikTok is spelling out to its European users that their data can be accessed by employees outside the continent, including in China, amid political and regulatory concerns about Chinese access to user information on the platform.

The other countries where European user data could be accessed by TikTok staff include Brazil, Canada and Israel as well as the US and Singapore, where European user data is stored currently.

The privacy policy update, which applies to the UK, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, and which goes live on 2 December, takes place against a backdrop of political and regulatory pressure over use of data generated by the app, which has more than a billion users worldwide.