MPs in turmoil as Parliament sets up TikTok account over fear the social media giant is sharing data

A Tiktok account set up for Parliament has sparked a stir among seniors Tory MPs sanctioned by China.

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

A letter has been sent to the Speakers of both houses calling for the deletion of the account, which was created on Wednesday.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith signed the letter calling for the Tiktok account to be deleted, as did Tom Tugendhat and Nus Ghani

Signatories include ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat and 1922 commission vice-chairman Nus Ghani. All three were sanctioned by the Chinese government last year for “maliciously distributing lies and misinformation’ about human rights violations in China.

A Tiktok Account Could Make Parliament’s Confidential Data Vulnerable

The letter casts doubt on TikTok executives’ reassurance to MPs that user data will not be shared with ByteDance, according to wesbite Politico. Under China’s National Intelligence law, companies in the country are required to hand over data to government agencies upon request.

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

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

A spokesperson for Parliament said it would respond to the letter in due course, adding: “We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that none of our data is compromised.” TikTok said the letter contained “factual inaccuracies” and stressed: “We have never provided any user data to the Chinese government.”