They had hoped to identify links between staff and a Financial Times reporter and a former BuzzFeed journalist, an email from ByteDance’s general counsel Erich Andersen seen by AFP said.None of the employees found to have been involved remained employed by ByteDance, Andersen said, though he did not disclose how many had been fired.Employees had obtained the IP addresses of the journalists in a bid to determine whether they were in the same location as ByteDance colleagues suspected of disclosing confidential information, a company review of the scheme led by its compliance team and an external law firm found, according to Andersen.The House of Representatives could this week adopt a law prohibiting the use of TikTok on the professional phones of civil servants, a move that would follow bans in around 20 US states.| Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual ReportSupport press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit, Hong Kong Free Press is #PressingOn with impartial, award-winning, frontline coverage."