[Gateway] An internal investigation by ByteDance, the parent company of video-sharing platform TikTok, found that employees tracked multiple journalists covering the company, improperly gaining access to their IP addresses and user data in an attempt to identify whether they had been in the same locales as ByteDance employees.According to materials reviewed by Forbes, ByteDance tracked multiple Forbes journalists as part of this covert surveillance campaign, which was designed to unearth the source of leaks inside the company following a drumbeat of stories exposing the company’s ongoing links to China. As a result of the investigation into the surveillance tactics, ByteDance fired Chris Lepitak, its chief internal auditor who led the team responsible for them. The China-based executive Song Ye, who Lepitak reported to and who reports directly to ByteDance CEO Rubo Liang, resigned.
"I was deeply disappointed when I was notified of the situation... and I’m sure you feel the same," Liang wrote in an internal email shared with Forbes. "The public trust that we have spent huge efforts building is going to be significantly undermined by the misconduct of a few individuals. ... I believe this situation will serve as a lesson to us all."
| “Next time, please don’t be catchable, ‘k?” |
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