May 15, 2023
A former executive of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, Yintao Yu, has filed a wrongful dismissal case stating that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has unlimited access to user data, including data kept in the United States.
Yu said that the CCP operated through a separate office or unit called as the “Committee,” which affected the company’s propagation of key Communist ideals. The lawsuit also alleges that the CCP obtained user data from the United States via a backdoor route in the code.
According to Yu’s complaint, ByteDance promoted nationalistic content on its platforms in order to enhance interaction and build support for the CCP, in response to its demands to exchange information and alter content. The complaint also claims that ByteDance stole data from competitors Instagram and Snapchat without their permission. Yu’s complaint asks for a public injunction, as well as damages, restitution, and injunctive relief. He has also stated that a large amount of any monetary earned will be donated to groups that promote Asian American civil rights.
ByteDance intends to actively defend itself against the charges in the case, claiming that it gets data in compliance with industry norms and its worldwide policy.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.
