China Denies Ordering Firms to Illegally Harvest Data Amid Fresh EU Probe Into TikTok
Beijing has firmly rejected accusations that it directs companies to illegally collect or store user data, following a renewed investigation by European regulators into Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.
At a regular press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Chinese government “attaches great importance to data privacy and security”, and operates strictly within legal frameworks.
“China has never, and will never, require companies or individuals to illegally collect or store data,” Mao declared, responding to reports of an ongoing probe by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC)—the European Union’s lead privacy watchdog for TikTok.
Mao called on the EU to uphold market fairness and non-discrimination, urging European institutions to ensure a “just, open, and equitable business environment for companies from all countries.”
The statement follows intensified scrutiny of TikTok’s data practices in Europe. The platform, which boasts 1.5 billion users globally, has long been under fire from Western governments over concerns that user data—especially from Europe—could be accessed by Chinese authorities for espionage or influence operations.
TikTok, a subsidiary of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, maintains that it has never received data access requests from the Chinese government. The company insists that European user data, though occasionally accessed remotely by employees in China, remains protected and compliant with EU regulations.
In May, the DPC fined TikTok €530 million ($620 million) for alleged violations involving the transfer of personal data to China, despite the platform’s claim that such access was limited and securely managed.
The latest probe reignites a broader debate over data sovereignty, national security, and the accountability of foreign-owned tech platforms operating within the EU.
