TikTok’s parent company ByteDance had a department at its Chinese headquarters with members of the Chinese government who monitored the apps and considered how the apps could promote Communist Party values. That is what a former employee claims.
That department also had a ‘kill switch’ for ByteDance’s Chinese apps, reports The New York Times. In addition, government employees had “superior access” to user data from ByteDance apps, such as TikTok, including from users outside of China.
The accusation comes from Yintao Yu, who worked for the company for just under a year in 2018 as head of engineering in the US. Yu goes on to say that ByteDance employees often created bots to boost numbers and engagement. It also happened that employees stole content from other platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat, and posted it on TikTok.
Yu is involved in a lawsuit with his former employer over his firing. TikTok denies the allegations. “We strongly oppose what we believe to be baseless claims and allegations in this suit.”