Former ByteDance Exec Claims TikTok Ripped Rival Content And Granted CCP A Backdoor
TikTok has been at the center of heated debates in recent years concerning how parent company ByteDance handles its user's information. Currently, the US Senate is looking at the Risk Information and Communication Technology (RESTRICT) Act. The bill, also known as Senate Bill 686, seeks indirectly to ban the app, along with some other controversial inclusions. Yu's claims will more than likely only bolster the attempts to get rid of the extremely popular app in America.
Yu accuses ByteDance of a "culture of lawlessness" in a recent lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court against the China-based company. The former executive goes as far as saying ByteDance is a "useful propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party."
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact Yu says his former employer had a special unit of Chinese Communist Party members who were often referred to as the Committee. This special unit supposedly monitored the company's apps, such as TikTok, and "guided how the company advanced core Communist values" and had a "death switch" that could terminate the apps at a moment's notice.
"The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States," the suit stated.
It is important to note that Yu's experience with ByteDance came between August 2017 and November 2018, while he was employed there. While it has been five years since these allegations occurred, there is little doubt it will only add fuel to the already red-hot attempt of US lawmakers to get TikTok banned.
The lawsuit also claims that Mr. Yu was terminated due to him bringing light to the "worldwide scheme" to steal and profit from others' intellectual property.
ByteDance claims the allegations are "baseless," in a statement to the New York Times. The parent company of TikTok also added, "Mr. Yu worked for ByteDance Inc. for less than a year and his employment ended in July 2018. During his brief time at the company, he worked on an app called Flipagram, which was discontinued years ago for business reasons."