The US government has disclosed new national security concerns around TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance, as it fights their challenge to a law that would force a sale or ban of the app.
In legal documents filed on Friday, the US Department of Justice alleged some of TikTok’s US user data had been stored in China and the company was able to collect data based on users’ views on sensitive issues such as abortion.
Under a bill Congress approved in April, ByteDance must divest TikTok by January 2025 or face a countrywide ban. The move came after US officials warned the popular platform posed national security risks, partly because ByteDance could be compelled to share the personal information of the 170mn Americans who use the app with Beijing under Chinese law.