TikTok Collected U.S. Users’ Views on Gun Control, Abortion and Religion, U.S. Says
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SUMMARY
he Justice Department asserted Friday that TikTok poses a national-security threat, alleging that the app collected U.S. users' views on gun control, abortion, and religion, and censored content per its China-based parent company ByteDance's directives. This claim emerged in response to TikTok's lawsuit against a new law requiring ByteDance to sell or face a U.S. ban by mid-January. The Justice Department highlighted a software tool enabling ByteDance to access sensitive user data, despite TikTok's defense of its data practices. Additionally, the department criticized TikTok’s content moderation as being influenced by ByteDance. TikTok maintains its U.S. algorithm is independently managed and has invested $1.5 billion in safeguarding user data. The case is crucial for TikTok's continued operation in the U.S.