"TikTok Won’t Say If It’s Giving ICE Your Data" 21 Oct 2025

Earlier this year, TikTok quietly changed its policies about when and how it would share data with governments.

As the company negotiated terms with the Trump Administration that would allow its app to continue operating in the U.S., it added language to its policies that covered data sharing not just with law enforcement, but also with “regulatory authorities, where relevant,” and weakened promises to inform users about government requests for their private data.

Now, TikTok has repeatedly declined to answer questions from Forbes about whether it has shared or is sharing private user information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or its investigative arm, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The policy changes, combined with the company’s silence about them, leave open the possibility that it could do so if asked...

...One of the recent changes to TikTok’s policies, though, could make it harder for some people to challenge ICE subpoenas seeking their data. The change eliminates promise by the company to give notice to users before it turns over their data to the government. Without notice, a person whose data is being requested doesn’t have a chance to contest the subpoena...in countries where notice is not built into the law, TikTok’s policy changes might have an even bigger impact than they do in the United States...

...Eight hours after this story was first published, TikTok’s Head of Global Corporate Communications, Nathaniel Brown, sent Forbes the following statement: “This misleading story deliberately distorts and sensationalizes how we handle legal requests for the sole benefit of click bait. The fact is TikTok carefully evaluates these requests against our publicly available law enforcement guidelines and transparently publishes information on a regular basis about how we respond to them.” Brown did not deny the recent changes to TikTok’s policies, nor did he answer any of our questions about those policies or about whether TikTok is sharing data with ICE...