A former head of engineering at Bytedance in the United States has filed a complaint in a San Francisco state court alleging that the Chinese tech company discharged him for raising concerns about its practices. Yintao “Roger” Yu claims that Bytedance was taking user content from other platforms, mainly Instagram and Snapchat, without permission. He said that when he raised these concerns with management, they dismissed them and asked him to hide the illegal program, especially from employees in the United States.
Allegations of Fabricated Users and CCP Propaganda
In addition to the dispute over user content, Yu also alleged that Bytedance created fabricated users to exaggerate its metrics and served as a useful propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is seeking a court order that would prohibit Bytedance from scraping content from other social media platforms.
Response from Bytedance
Bytedance responded to the complaint, saying that it plans to vigorously oppose what it believes are baseless claims and allegations. The company also denied the scraping allegations, stating that it acquired data in line with industry practice and its global policy.
The dispute comes at a time when Bytedance-owned app TikTok is facing growing calls for a nationwide ban from some U.S. lawmakers regarding concerns about potential Chinese government influence over it. In March, U.S. lawmakers questioned TikTok’s Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew about potential Chinese influence, saying its short videos were damaging children’s mental health, reflecting bipartisan concerns about the app’s power over Americans. In response to these concerns, lawmakers in Montana passed a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state.
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