The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged on Friday that TikTok and its Chinese parent company collected sensitive data from their American users, according to court filings.
The DOJ alleged in court filings that TikTok had been collecting Americans’ user data on their views regarding sensitive topics like abortion, gun control and religion, arguing that the app poses a “potential threat to U.S. national security.” The DOJ’s latest filings follow a federal lawsuit TikTok filed in May after President Joe Biden signed legislation that gave the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, until January of 2025 to formally divest itself of the platform or risk a total ban in the U.S. (RELATED: Ex-TikTok Employee Alleges American Executives Were ‘Completely Complicit’ In Giving ‘US Data To China’)
TikTok argued that the law, which required either a sale or a ban of the popular app, is a free speech violation for the 170 million American users, according to a statement in an X post on Saturday.
TOPSHOT – (L-R) Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, arrive to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“The U.S. Intelligence Community assesses that ByteDance and TikTok pose a potential threat to U.S. national security because they could be used by the [People’s Republic of China] against the United States in two principal ways,” the most recent filing reads. “Malign foreign influence targeting U.S. persons, and collection of sensitive data of U.S. persons.” (RELATED: Chinese Embassy Reportedly Lobbied Directly Against TikTok Bill On Capitol Hill)
The DOJ alleged in their most recent filing that TikTok and ByteDance allowed their employees to use software tools that allowed the app to collect user information and to censor certain content at the discretion of the Chinese-owned parent company.
“One of those tools 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 filing reads. “Another tool contained policies that allowed both for the collection of bulk user information as well as the triggering of the suppression of content on the platform based on the user’s use of certain words.”
TikTok reiterated its view that the lawsuit is “unconstitutional” and that the DOJ has yet to provide “proof of its claims,” according to their statement on X.
“Nothing in this brief changes the fact that the Constitution is on our side,” TikTok said in a statement on X in response to the court filings. “The TikTok ban would silence 170 million Americans’ voices, violating the First Amendment.” (RELATED: Powerful Dems Trying To Pump The Brakes On TikTok Bill Have Former Staffers Lobbying For The App)
“As we’ve said before, the government has never put forth proof of its claims, including when Congress passed this unconstitutional law,” TikTok said in the statement. “Today, once again, the government is taking this unprecedented step while hiding behind secret information. We remain confident we will prevail in court.”
The oral arguments for the case are scheduled for Sept. 16, according to the recent court filings.
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