The US Department of Justice accuses TikTok of illegally collecting user information

The US Justice Department made the details public in court filings late Friday, in response to a federal lawsuit TikTok filed in May, arguing that laws banning the app violate the free speech rights of millions of Americans.

As is known, the US government has issued a decision to ban TikTok from operating in the US unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance divests from the platform by mid-January 2025.

Photo: USA Today

The US Justice Department said it discovered a software tool that allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in the US to collect user information, including their views on topics such as gun control, abortion and religion.

TikTok has previously defended its data collection practices. “Protecting the privacy and security of people who use TikTok is one of our top priorities,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said.

TikTok has previously said that its US algorithm is hosted at its US partner, Oracle. And that the algorithm is overseen by employees in a unit officially called TikTok US Data Security. TikTok said it spent $1.5 billion on this operation.

The Justice Department said it based its findings in part on revelations that TikTok employees sent large amounts of restricted U.S. user data to colleagues in China using ByteDance's internal communications system called Lark.

According to the ministry, ByteDance operates Lark on servers in China, which means these communications are stored there and accessible to ByteDance employees in China.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of US adults aged 18 to 29 are using TikTok.

Quang Anh (according to WSJ)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bo-tu-phap-my-cao-buoc-tiktok-thu-thap-trai-phep-thong-tin-nguoi-dung-post305194.html