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The dispute comes at a time when ByteDance-owned app TikTok
faces growing calls for a nationwide ban from some U.S.
lawmakers regarding concerns about potential Chinese government
influence over it.
Yintao "Roger" Yu said in a complaint filed on Friday in San
Francisco state court that the Chinese tech company engaged in a
"worldwide scheme to steal and profit from the content of
others" without seeking permission.
When Yu raised these concerns to higher management, he said they
dismissed them and asked him to hide the illegal program,
especially from employees in the United States, as it had
stricter IP laws and class actions.
He was later dismissed by ByteDance in November 2018.
Yu also said in the complaint 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.
In response to the complaint, ByteDance said, "We plan to
vigorously oppose what we believe are baseless claims and
allegations. Mr. Yu worked for ByteDance Inc. for less than a
year."
ByteDance also responded to the scraping allegations, saying it
acquired data in line with industry practice and its global
policy.
In April, Montana lawmakers passed a bill to ban its short-form
TikTok app from operating in the state.
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.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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