The Justice Department accused TikTok and its parent company ByteDance of collecting vast amounts of user data on sensitive topics like gun control, abortion, and religion using a system called Lark. This data was reportedly stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees in China. The government also claimed that these employees could manipulate the algorithm to influence users’ feeds, potentially shaping public opinion or exacerbating social divisions.
The legal documents are part of a major case against TikTok, which has over 170 million American users. The company could be banned if it doesn’t separate from ByteDance due to national security concerns, as per a law signed by President Joe Biden in April. The government alleges that Chinese authorities could access user data or manipulate the algorithm for their interests.
The documents reveal that certain policies of Lark suppressed content based on specific keywords, affecting both ByteDance and TikTok users in China and possibly outside it. TikTok is investigating these policies and their potential usage within the US. The Justice Department also argues that TikTok’s $1.5 billion plan to store US user data on Oracle servers doesn’t alleviate national security concerns due to the Lark data transfers.
TikTok has argued that the potential ban infringes upon the First Amendment by silencing American voices, but the Justice Department disagrees, stating that the law focuses on national security and does not target protected speech or foreign entities. TikTok also claims the US law discriminates based on viewpoints due to critical statements regarding its handling of anti-Israel content, but the Justice Department counters by emphasizing ongoing concerns about China’s potential weaponization of technology against US national security.
The case is set for oral arguments in September.
Source: https://fortune.com/2024/07/27/tiktok-ban-sensitive-data-us-bytedance-china-justice-department-joe-biden/