TikTok collected US user views on issues like abortion and gun control, Justice Dept. claims
The US Department of Justice accused social media giant TikTok of collecting information on American users, including their views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion.
TikTok employees and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used an internal system called Lark to share sensitive data about US users — information that has been stored on Chinese servers and is accessible to ByteDance employees in China, according to a DOJ brief filed in federal appeals court in Washington.
The DOJ warned of the potential of covert content manipulation at the hands of the Chinese government, as the algorithm the app uses could shape the content users view.
By directing ByteDance or TikTok to covertly manipulate that algorithm; China could for example further its existing malign influence operations and amplify its efforts to undermine trust in our democracy and exacerbate social divisions, the feds said in the court filing.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year the video app had tracked users who watched LGBTQ content through a dashboard the company said it had since deleted.
The new court documents represent the governments first major defense in the legal battle over the future of the popular social media platform, which has more than 170 million users in the US.
President Biden signed a law in April under which TikTok faces a ban in a matter of months if it continues working with ByteDance.
The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support as concerns mounted over China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party forcing ByteDance to hand over US user data or manipulate the algorithm.
TikTok and ByteDance employees have been found to engage in a practice called heating, in which certain videos are bumped on users feeds to reach a certain number of views, the DOJ said.
This allows the app to promote the content it wants.
Justice Department officials have requested the court to allow a classified version of its legal brief, which wont be accessible to the two companies.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said that nothing in the redacted brief reveals any unconstitutional activity.
The TikTok ban would silence 170 million Americans voices, violating the 1st Amendment, Haurek told the Associated Press.
As weve said before, the government has never put forth proof of its claims, including when Congress passed this unconstitutional law. Today, once again, the government is taking this unprecedented step while hiding behind secret information. We remain confident we will prevail in court.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to begin in September.
