Justice Department Accuses TikTok of Data Manipulation and Security Threat

The U.S. Justice Department has accused TikTok and its parent company ByteDance of gathering sensitive user information through an internal system, potentially posing a national security threat. Court documents allege violations including data transfer to Chinese servers and covert content manipulation. The legal battle may lead to a ban on TikTok.

The Justice Department has leveled serious accusations against TikTok, one of the world's leading social media platforms. Late Friday, officials claimed that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have been using an internal system to collect bulk user data on divisive social issues such as gun control and religion.

Federal lawyers disclosed that TikTok employees communicated with ByteDance engineers in China via a system called Lark. This system facilitated the exchange of sensitive data about U.S. users, which was allegedly stored on Chinese servers and accessed by ByteDance's China-based employees.

These revelations come amid growing concerns that TikTok could be manipulated by the Chinese government to sway public opinion in the U.S. The Justice Department detailed potential covert content manipulation and biased content promotion practices in a newly filed court brief. The company, facing a ban under President Biden's recent legislation, contends that these accusations infringe its First Amendment rights. Oral arguments are slated for September.

(With inputs from agencies.)