TikTok has told its users in the UK, Switzerland, and the European Economic Area that some of its employees in China have access to their data.

In an update to its privacy policy, the Chinese-owned video-sharing app said that “based on a demonstrated need to do their job” the company allows certain employees across its corporate group to have remote access to TikTok European user data.

The employees are located in a number of countries, including China, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States.

The company has recently come under fire for concerns about data being passed over to the Chinese government.

“While our work on data governance in Europe continues, TikTok remains a connected community of over one billion people around the world,” said the social media platform. “In order to operate a global platform designed for sharing joyful content, we rely on a global workforce to ensure that our community's TikTok experience is consistent, enjoyable and safe.”

In September, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that TikTok could face a £27 million fine following an investigation which found the company may have breached UK data protection law.

Alleging the video platform failed to protect children’s privacy when using its app, the ICO issued TikTok Inc and TikTok Information Technologies UK with a ‘notice of intent’ - a legal document that precedes a potential fine.

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