TikTok, the most popular social media platform of recent years, is once again in the headlines, but not for reasons we’re accustomed to. According to reports in the American press, 700,000 TikTok accounts in Turkey were stolen. This incident occurred just before the elections.

TikTok is one of the most used platforms worldwide. The platform is at the center of numerous security debates due to the China-US competition. Today’s news reveals just how popular TikTok is in Turkey as well.

According to a report by Forbes, in April 2023, 700,000 TikTok accounts were stolen in Turkey. Kim Albarella, the security manager of TikTok, pointed out that the system vulnerability was communicated last year, but no action was taken due to various cost issues.

According to the report, the UK-based intelligence company GCHQ also informed TikTok. Furthermore, it was stated that the attack that took place in Turkey in April 2023 was the largest security vulnerability on TikTok. It turned out that there was no account theft of this magnitude on the platform before this incident.

In relation to the issue, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek made a statement. In his statement, he said, “TikTok noticed unusual activity affecting the count in April, particularly the number of likes and accounts viewed on some users’ accounts. We immediately took steps to reverse and end this activity, and we informed the affected users.”