TikTok's classified national security briefing given to senators may have been based in part on claims by a fired employee who is now making further work … interesting allegations.
Former employee says his firing was instigated by the US Attorney General and that the FBI and CIA shared his personal information with foreign governments …
TikTok national security briefing
Last month, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to either ban TikTok in the US or force the sale of the app to an American company. President Biden has said he will sign the order if it passes the Senate and reaches his desk.
Senators seemed less convinced the legislation needed to pass, so the Justice Department promoted the sale option. instead of a ban, and the intelligence community briefed senators on what it believed were national security threats.
These reported risks were so significant that two senators said they should be made public. However, it now appears that one of the sources of information may be less than reliable.
A fired employee makes “ interesting” matter; claims
Wired reports that a former TikTok employee claims to be the source of some of the claims and points to additional claims he is making in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
One former TikTok employee-turned-whistleblower who claims to have sparked major news and congressional concerns about the app has now come forward.
Zen Goziker has worked at TikTok […] total six months. . He did not hold a senior position at the company.
His lawsuit, and a second one he filed in March against several U.S. government agencies, contains a number of incredible allegations. He claims TikTok and the FBI put him under 24-hour surveillance while he worked remotely in Mexico. He claims that US Attorney General Merrick Garland, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and other senior officials “maliciously instigated” his dismissal. And he claims the FBI helped the CIA share his personal information with foreign governments […]
Goziker shared recordings with WIRED showing that, in an effort to share his concerns about TikTok, he scheduled meetings with representatives from DHS, the FBI and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office. He also claimed to have met with staff from the offices of several U.S. senators, including Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Goziker appears to be the source of a Washington Post article alleging that the personal data of American TikTok users is being transferred to China. The company denies this claim.
Photo by Mario Heller on Unsplash
