A former executive at ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has alleged that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had extensive access to all data held by the company, even data stored on servers in the United States.

Yintao “Roger” Yu, a former head of engineering at Bytedance in the United States, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit claiming that the CCP had a dedicated office within the company known as the “Committee,” which monitored and guided Bytedance and its subsidiary TikTok, promoting core Communist values.

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According to the complaint obtained by CNN, Yu stated, “The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States.”

He further asserted that Bytedance had provided user data to the CCP through a backdoor channel, regardless of its location worldwide.

Yu also claimed that he had witnessed Bytedance being compliant with CCP requests to share, elevate, and even remove content, portraying the company as a “useful propaganda tool” for Beijing’s communist leaders.

Yu’s lawsuit alleged that he was dismissed by ByteDance in November 2018 after he raised concerns about the company’s involvement in illegal activities.

He reportedly informed management about ByteDance’s practice of taking user content from platforms like Instagram and Snapchat without permission, to which management instructed him to conceal the illegal program, particularly from employees in the United States due to stricter laws in the country.

Accusing ByteDance of engaging in a “worldwide scheme to steal and profit from the content of others,” Yu is seeking a court order to prohibit the company from scraping content from other social media platforms.

In response to Yu’s complaint, ByteDance stated, “We plan to vigorously oppose what we believe are baseless claims and allegations. Mr. Yu worked for ByteDance Inc. for less than a year.”

The company also defended its data acquisition practices, asserting that they aligned with industry standards and its global policy.

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The conflict between Yu and ByteDance arises amidst growing calls from U.S. lawmakers and others for a nationwide ban on the Chinese tech company due to concerns over CCP influence.

ByteDance has previously faced scrutiny for obtaining the private user data of U.S. journalists.

Additionally, it recently came to light that the company had secretly tracked a UK journalist through her cat’s TikTok account, which did not even contain her real name.

The allegations made by Yu shed light on the close ties between ByteDance, TikTok, and the CCP, raising concerns about data privacy and the potential for the dissemination of propaganda.

As the legal battle unfolds, it remains to be seen how this controversy will impact ByteDance’s operations and the global perception of TikTok.