TikTok’s chief security officer resigns following controversy over US users’ data

Roland Cloutier is stepping down as TikTok’s global security director. A management change that has been going on for months.

Chief Security Officer (CSO) TikTok The world decided Leave his post and assume a strategic advisory role within the organization. Roland Cloutier’s move follows concerns about the company’s handling of US user data. TikTok recently admitted that employees outside the country could access this information, despite “strong cyber security and access controls” by the US Security Council.

Roland Cloutier has stepped down as TikTok Global Security Director

So Roland Cloutier will be an advisor on the impact of business on TikTok’s security and trust programs. Kim Albarella, head of security risk, supplier and customer assurance, will contribute on an interim basis.

“Part of our evolving approach is to allay concerns about the security of user data residing in the U.S., including creating a new department to manage the data of TikTok’s U.S. users,” Chief Executive Officer Sho Ji Siew wrote in a note. His employees. “This is a significant investment in our data protection practices and it also changes the scope of the CSO role. With this in mind, Roland has decided to step down from his day-to-day operations effective September 2.

A management change that has been going on for months

A TikTok spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that Roland Cloutier does not oversee the new team handling US user data. This department reports directly to Sho Ji Che. Roland Cloutier’s departure has nothing to do with US regulators’ fears about their users’ data, and the change has been in the works for months.

Last month, BuzzFeed News reported that China-based engineers at parent company ByteDance accessed non-public US user data on multiple occasions between September and January. TikTok says it currently stores all personal data of US users on Oracle servers in the US and is in the process of removing personal data from its own servers. In a letter to Republican senators a few days ago, Sho Chi Siew wrote that the company is actively working to remove “doubts about the security of US user data.”