Beijing’s Haidian District People’s Court will hear a lawsuit from TikTok owner ByteDance against a former doctoral intern surnamed Tian, alleging malicious code tampering during an internal model training project. ByteDance is seeking RMB 8 million ($1.1 million) in damages, RMB 20,000 ($275.8) in related expenses, and a public apology, according to a Nov. 28 Weibo post from Chinese media outlet Southern Metropolis Daily. The company claims Tian’s actions interfered with a research initiative within its commercialization tech team but did not affect official projects or other business operations. ByteDance revealed that Tian, who was dismissed in August 2024 for apparent misconduct, allegedly tampered with the project in June and July due to dissatisfaction with resource allocation. The company reported the incident to his university, but Tian repeatedly denied involvement, prompting the Chinese tech giant’s legal action. Legal experts suggest the compensation demand aligns with direct losses incurred by the company, including wasted computing power. ByteDance may pursue further criminal charges if evidence supports intentional damage to its operations. ByteDance emphasized the lawsuit underscores its zero-tolerance stance on internal security breaches. [Southern Metropolis Daily Weibo account, in Chinese]
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