The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, uses a web-suite system that collects information on the user's content including their social views.
The department submitted documents to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to provide details on the risk of allowing ByteDance to operate in the U.S.
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ByteDance, TikTok Face Scrutiny on Alleged Data Collection
In one of the filed documents, DOJ claimed that a search tool within Lark's web-suite system has "allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in the United States and China to collect bulk user information based on the user's content or expressions, including views on gun control, abortion, and religion."
The department argued that TikTok could easily use these types of information to manipulate the algorithm. Moreover, it was also emphasized that any sensitive information by users could end up stored on Chinese servers.
The recent documents were submitted as DOJ seeks the rejection of TikTok's request to overturn the law that forces ByteDance to sell the company or face banning in 2025.
ByteDance, TikTok Continues Fight Against Nearing Ban
Since President Joe Biden signed the bill into law last April, TikTok has been working to prove its innocence on specific accusations about its parent company, ByteDance. The U.S. government cited that the ban is to protect its citizens from security risks.
The social media giant has repeatedly denied the accusations and called the law "unconstitutional." Several users of the platform also went on strike to prevent the potential ban of the social media.
About 170 million Americans are actively using TikTok. About a third of the young voting population also stated that they use the platform for news.
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