TikTok users across the U.S. are sounding alarms over the app's updated privacy policy, which mentions collecting "immigration status" among other sensitive data categories. The disclosure, tied to the company's recent ownership transition, has sparked widespread panic on social media - but privacy lawyers say the language isn't new and has more to do with California's Consumer Privacy Act than government surveillance. The timing couldn't be worse, coming as ICE enforcement escalates and hundreds of Minnesota businesses shut down Friday in protest.
TikTok users just got a crash course in privacy law, and they're not happy about it. The app's newly updated privacy policy - pushed to users via in-app notifications following the company's ownership transition - has triggered a wave of concern across social media, with thousands posting screenshots and warnings about language mentioning "immigration status" data collection.
But here's the thing: this isn't actually new. The same language appeared in TikTok's previous privacy policy, updated back in August 2024. What changed is that people are actually reading it now, thanks to mandatory alerts about the new legal entity operating the service.
The policy states TikTok may process "racial or ethnic origin, national origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status, or financial information." That's a lot to unpack, especially in today's political climate.
The timing is brutal. On Friday, hundreds of Minnesota businesses closed their doors in an economic blackout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state. According to reports from The New York Times, weeks of clashes between Minnesota residents and ICE agents have led to thousands of arrests and the death of American citizen Renée Good. When users see "immigration status" in their social media app's terms of service, the implications feel very real.
