Yintao Yu, formerly head of engineering for ByteDance in the U.S., says those same people had access to U.S. user data, an accusation that the company denies.
Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous region in China with its own government. In recent years, following mass protests in 2014 and 2019, the former British colony has come under more far reaching control by Beijing. Charles Jung, Yu’s lawyer and a partner at the law firm Nassiri & Jung, said Yu chose to raise the allegations because he was “disturbed to hear the recent Congressional testimony of TikTok’s CEO” when Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean, vehemently denied Chinese authorities had access to user data.
They also contend that the app, which has over 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. and more than a billion users worldwide, could be used to expand China’s influence. In an earlier court filing, Yu accused ByteDance of serving as a “propaganda tool” for the Chinese Communist Party by promoting nationalistic content and demoting content that does not serve the party’s aims. He also said that ByteDance was responsive to the Communist Party's requests to share information.