TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, is once again at the center of the national security debate. On Friday, the US Department of Justice stated in court documents that TikTok collects user data on sensitive topics such as gun control, abortion, and religion, and censors content under the direction of its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
In the court documents released in response to a lawsuit filed by TikTok in May, the Justice Department argues that the new law, which mandates the sale or ban of the app in the U.S., does not violate Americans' free speech in the name of national security. The law bans TikTok in the U.S. unless ByteDance divests the platform by mid-January.
According to the Ministry of Justice, TikTok used software that allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in the USA to collect user data, tracking users' opinions on topics such as gun control, abortion, and religion. This information was allegedly used for censoring and manipulating content.
The collection of data from Americans is not a protected activity," explained a high-ranking official of the Department of Justice, defending the department's measures.
TikTok has defended its data practices in the past, emphasizing that the protection of users' privacy and security is a top priority. "Securing the privacy and safety of the people who use TikTok is one of our top priorities," said the company.
Supporters of the law passed in April see it as an attempt to prevent potential espionage activities and to curb the influence of the Chinese government on the content offered by TikTok. However, TikTok has emphasized that it would not comply with any such demands from the Chinese government.
The Ministry of Justice also pointed out that TikTok has previously censored content and manipulated its algorithm under instructions from ByteDance. "According to its own statements, TikTok U.S. is merely an intermediary for content moderation decisions made by Chinese entities," an official from the Ministry explained.
TikTok has announced that the algorithms of the US version of the app will be stored with its American partner Oracle and that the algorithms will be trained on US user data monitored by employees within the unit officially called TikTok U.S. Data Security. TikTok has invested $1.5 billion for this.
The Justice Department argues, however, that TikTok's proposal to store US user data on servers in the USA is insufficient to protect the data, as TikTok employees used ByteDance-developed software to share information and occasionally transmitted significant amounts of restricted US user data through this software to colleagues in China.
More than half of US adults aged 18 to 29 use TikTok, according to the Pew Research Center. Despite this popularity, the app is under significant pressure due to cited security concerns.
Several billionaires have already announced plans to bid for TikTok, but ByteDance has stated that it can neither sell nor wants to sell its US operations. TikTok's lawsuit against the new law is one of the company's best chances to continue operating in the US.
