TikTok parent to 'vigorously' fight former US exec allegations

In his suit, which was filed this month, Yu says that he discovered shortly after being hired in 2017 that ByteDance "was stealing" videos published on rival sites like Instagram and Snapchat and presenting them as its own. — Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, on Monday said it would fight allegations that it fired an executive for sounding the alarm over what he called the company's "culture of lawlessness."

Yintao Yu has sued ByteDance in a San Francisco court as political pressure has been growing in the US to ban TikTok. Critics say the popular platform allows Beijing to covertly collect users' data and influence their opinions – something the company denies.