Dozens Of TikTok Employees Interogated By US Immigration Officers

TikTok employees detained by immigration officers (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained and interrogated more than 30 TikTok employees. Dozens of these interrogated employees work in the field of machine learning or data engineering. According to a Forbes report, quoted through The Verge, the majority of workers detained by CBP are Chinese citizens who are traveling to the US. It seems that all these employees were detained while being questioned at the airport. During interrogation, workers were asked about their access to TikTok user data in the US. They were also asked about the location of the TikTok data center in the US and their involvement with the company-driven Project Texas. The Texas Project is a program TikTok proposed last year. This program was created to show the US government that user data remains safe and the Chinese government will not be able to access user data. However, it seems that this program has not changed the US government's view because workers are still being asked about their involvement. According to CBP, this action is normal to ask because immigrants need to be examined.

"Semua pelancong internasional yang mencoba memasuki Amerika Serikat, termasuk semua warga negara AS, harus menjalani pemeriksaan,” kata Juru Bicara CBP Erin Waters kepada The Verge. Meski CBP merasa bahwa interogasi ini wajar untuk dilakukan, laporan dari Forbes menunjukkan hal yang sebaliknya. Beberapa pihak CBP mengajukan pertanyaan yang mengarah ke urusan pribadi seperti apakah mereka anggota dari Partai Komunis China. Para pekerja ini juga dimintai informasi pribadi seperti tempat mereka sempat bersekolah dan hubungan politik di China. CBP bahkan memiliki daftar pertanyaan tercetak khusus yang digunakan untuk menginterogasi para karyawan yang ditahan.