WASHINGTON.- He United States Department of Justice issued a new accusation against the social media platform TikTokclaiming that the company, together with its parent company ByteDanceBeijing-based Facebook inappropriately collected sensitive information from American users, targeting their views on controversial topics such as gun control, abortion and religion.
In a filing with the federal appeals court in Washington, government lawyers detailed how TikTok used an internal tool called Lark to facilitate communication between TikTok employees in the United States and ByteDance engineers in China.
According to the report, this tool allowed the transfer of sensitive user data, which was then stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees. The document reveals that Lark had a search function that allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in both countries to gather information about users’ expressions and opinions on sensitive topics.
They also mention that TikTok has in the past closely monitored users who interacted with LGBTQ content, according to a previous Wall Street Journal report.
The revelations represent a significant development in the legal battle over TikTok’s future in the United States. With more than 170 million users in the country, the platform faces the possibility of a ban if it does not cut ties with ByteDance, as required by a law signed into law by President Joe Biden in April. The law, which received bipartisan support, was driven by concerns about potential Chinese government influence through data and content manipulation.
The Justice Department warned of potential “covert content manipulation” by the Chinese government, suggesting that TikTok’s algorithm could be used to influence public opinion and undermine trust in American democracy. “China could, for example, use ByteDance or TikTok to further its influence operations and exacerbate social divisions in the United States,” the report said.
A practice known as “warming,” in which certain videos are promoted to secure a specific number of views, was also mentioned. While this technique allows TikTok to highlight popular content, US authorities warn that it could be exploited for malicious intent.
The Justice Department has asked the court to consider a classified version of its report, which is inaccessible to TikTok and ByteDance.
“Nothing in the redacted report changes the fact that the Constitution is on our side. Banning TikTok would silence the voices of 170 million Americans, violating the First Amendment,” said Alex Haurek, a spokesperson for TikTok.
Haurek added that the US government has not provided concrete evidence for its allegations and that TikTok is confident it will prevail in court. The resolution of this legal dispute could have significant implications for the future of the platform and for the protection of user privacy in the global digital environment.
Source: With information from AP