ByteDance, the parent company of the short-form video app, TikTok, has been under scrutiny after several privacy concerns. The company added copycat to the list of offenses after it was caught using OpenAI's API to develop its own AI product.
ByteDance Violates OpenAI's Terms
The Beijing-based company is just among the many tech giants that aim to create their own AI models and integrate them with their products. The only difference is that ByteDance may have tried to hasten the process by building on existing technology instead.
OpenAI claims that the internet tech company was developing its own large language model using the former's technology, which largely violates its terms of service. ByteDance was well aware that the practice was prohibited but continued to do so anyway.
The terms from the AI giant explicitly said that customers aren't allowed to develop any artificial intelligence models that compete with their products and services, or use any method to "extract data from the Services other than as permitted through the APIs," as per Business Insider.
ByteDance, as it was developing its AI model called Project Seed, even told its employees to hide evidence using "data desensitization" techniques, as seen in internal communications. This just shows that the company knows the extent of the violation.
Furthermore, the Chinese company eventually stopped the practice, particularly when the country's regulators approved its chatbot called Doubao, but ByteDance still used OpenAI's API to boost the performance of the chatbot.
OpenAI's spokesperson Niko Felix said that if they discover that their usage doesn't follow their policies, the company will ask them to make necessary changes or their account will be terminated. ByteDance may have failed to do so since OpenAI terminated its accounts.
The internet company refuses to admit to any wrongdoing, stating that it is licensed by Microsoft to use the GPT APIs, and that they use it to power products and features in non-China markets. A spokesperson added that their chatbot Doubao is only available in China.
Read Also: 18 US States Support Montana's TikTok Ban
ByteDance is Not Out of the Woods
Several countries are still apprehensive towards the parent company, particularly its social media product, TikTok, fearing that it might be harvesting user data and providing it to the Chinese government. There are laws, after all, that allow the government to demand data.
India has already banned TikTok completely, and other countries are already preparing to issue policies that would limit TikTok's access to users' data. Government-issued devices are no longer allowed to have the app in dozens of states in the US.
As reported by The New York Times, other governing bodies like Britain's parliament, Australia, Canada, France, and more are enforcing the same policy as the US government. In one US state, Montana, the app is already banned completely from its residents.
Governor Greg Gianforte already signed the bill that enforces this back in May. However, TikTok came to the users' rescue demanding that the issue be reversed, as it violates the citizens' First Amendment rights. A federal judge has already granted a preliminary injunction that could lift the ban.
Related: ByteDance Slashes Hundreds of Positions Under Gaming Unit
