New York, December 24 (RHC)-- The video-sharing platform TikTok has revealed some of its workers tracked two reporters who cover the company, gaining access to their IP addresses and user data.  

One journalist was from the Financial Times; the other wrote for BuzzFeed and now works at Forbes.  Forbes says at least two more of its reporters were targeted for surveillance, which was undertaken as part of an internal investigation into leaks at the company. 

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, says it did not approve the spying tactics and fired the worker who led the effort.  This comes as the Senate on passed a provision banning TikTok on most U.S. government devices. 

Some lawmakers have been fighting to ban the hugely popular app altogether amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing, saying it poses a national security and privacy risk.