DOJ Accuses TikTok of Data Misuse on Sensitive Topics

On 27 July 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice accused TikTok of collecting and sharing U.S. user data on sensitive issues, including abortion and gun control, with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The accusations were detailed in documents filed to the federal appeals court in Washington, highlighting the use of an internal web-suite system called Lark. This system allowed TikTok employees to send sensitive data to ByteDance engineers in China, raising significant national security concerns.

Key Details:

• Data Collection and Transfer: TikTok employees used Lark to send sensitive data about U.S. users, which ended up stored on Chinese servers. This data was accessible to ByteDance employees in China.
• Sensitive Topics: The data included user views on divisive social issues such as abortion, gun control, and religion. TikTok’s capability to gather this information was enabled by an internal search tool within Lark.
• Government’s Concern: The DOJ warned about the potential for “covert content manipulation” by the Chinese government, citing the algorithm’s ability to shape user content. They alleged TikTok’s “heating” practice, promoting certain videos, could be used for nefarious purposes.

Broader Implications:

• Legal Battle: This case is part of a larger legal struggle over TikTok’s future in the U.S. A law signed by President Joe Biden in April could ban TikTok if it doesn’t sever ties with ByteDance (see my post on that here).
• National Security: The government’s concerns center around the possibility that China could force ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data or manipulate public opinion through TikTok’s algorithm.
• First Amendment Debate: TikTok argues the potential ban would violate the First Amendment by silencing 170 million American voices. The DOJ contends that the law addresses national security without targeting protected speech.

Additional Context:

• Project Texas: TikTok’s $1.5 billion plan to store U.S. user data on Oracle servers is deemed insufficient by federal officials to mitigate national security risks.
• Future Proceedings: Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for September, as TikTok continues to argue that the law discriminates against viewpoints and that divestment would alter the platform’s content.

You can read NPR’s reporting here.