The news emerges as TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, contests a law mandating the sale of the social media platform by next January or face a U.S. ban.
TikTok has proactively addressed a cyber attack aimed at several brand and celebrity accounts, including CNN. According to a company spokesperson, “We have been collaborating closely with CNN to restore account access and implement enhanced security measures to safeguard their account moving forward.”
TikTok emphasized that the number of compromised accounts is “very small” and assured that it is working with affected account owners to restore access as needed. A source at TikTok informed Reuters that while reality TV star Paris Hilton’s account was targeted, it was not compromised.
Amid these security concerns, ByteDance is currently challenging a U.S. law requiring it to divest from TikTok by January, or the platform could face a ban. The White House has cited national security reasons for seeking an end to Chinese-based ownership of TikTok.