The Department of Justice (DOJ) has revealed that TikTok, a popular video app owned by a Chinese company, has a tool that can collect information on users’ opinions on controversial social issues such as gun control, abortion, and religion. According to a court filing, TikTok employees were able to communicate with ByteDance engineers in China using an internal web-suite system called “Lark” or “Feishu,” which resulted in the transfer of sensitive U.S. user data to Chinese servers accessible to ByteDance employees.
The DOJ’s court filing also mentioned that TikTok had initiated a project in 2022 to remove certain sensitive U.S. user data from Lark channels that were allegedly improperly stored. The Justice Department urged the court to reject a lawsuit filed by TikTok and ByteDance challenging a new law signed by President Biden, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban from mobile app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S.
Furthermore, the DOJ’s brief highlighted the national security threat posed by TikTok, citing concerns about the Chinese government’s potential exploitation of user information to undermine U.S. national security. The DOJ also raised issues regarding TikTok’s ability to suppress content based on specific words and warned of the Chinese Communist Party’s covert content manipulation on the platform.
In response, TikTok released a statement expressing confidence in its lawsuit and emphasizing the protection of users’ constitutional rights. The DOJ’s court filing also referenced a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that pointed out discrepancies in how TikTok ranked videos related to China’s Xinjiang region.
Overall, the DOJ’s revelations underscore the potential risks associated with TikTok’s operations and the need for vigilance in safeguarding user data and preventing external influence on the platform. Please rewrite this sentence.
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