Mumbai, May 12: TikTok allegedly compiled a list of users, and they were monitored by the popular video-sharing app for watching gay content on the platform, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The report said that the app kept up with users frequenting clips tagged under headlines such as LGBT - lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. The information came to light after a few employees complained about it after they found the list on the dashboard.

As per the report, the controversial video-sharing app tracked users who engaged with clips related to LGBT topics, storing their viewing habits on a dashboard. The employees in the US, UK, and Australia reported the issue to top executives, expressing worries about the potential sharing of this information with external parties or its possible use for blackmail. The employees of TikTik have raised this issue with top executives in 2020 and 2021. TikTok Layoffs: Chinese Short Video-Making App Fires Entire India Staff.

While TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been requested to comment on the issue, the video-sharing app emphasized its commitment to user privacy and security. Apart from TikTok, other social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, have previously been criticised for gathering user data via online habits for tailoring targeted ads. TikTok Fined 12.7 Million Pounds for Misusing Children's Data in UK Month After Britain Banned Chinese Video-Sharing App.

In April, the UK imposed a 12.7-million pound fine on Chinese video app TikTok for a number of breaches of data protection law, including failing to use children’s personal data lawfully. The move came a month after the UK government banned TikTok from all government phones amid security concerns around the Chinese-owned social media app.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 12, 2023 09:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).