Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
Back to profile13 entries
2022
Reporting of historically sensitive content
ByteDance announced that it would report content on Toutiao and Douyin characterized as historical nihilism or as contradicting official Chinese Communist Party historical narratives.
2021
Continuing data, vulgar-content and platform-governance scrutiny
ByteDance platforms including Toutiao faced continuing regulatory demands related to personal-information collection, vulgar information, data governance and compliance with Chinese internet rules.
2021
Court rules in Toutiao trademark dispute
Ruling
Hangzhou Railway Transportation Court ruled that Shenzhen Story Culture Media infringed the registered trademarks in the “Toutiao” and “Jinri Toutiao” series and ordered it to pay the two plaintiffs RMB 3 million in economic losses and reasonable expenses.
Source excerpt
2021年2月9日， 杭州铁路运输法院对北京字节跳动科技有限公司（以下简称字节跳动公司）、浙江今日头条科技有限公司(以下简称浙江今日头条公司)诉被告深圳故事文化传媒有限公司(以下简称深圳故事公司)侵害商标权及不正当竞争纠纷一案进行在线宣判，认定被告深圳故事文化传媒有限公司侵害了“头条”、“今日头条”系列注册商标权，赔偿两原告经济损失及合理费用共计300万元。
2020
ByteDance sues Kuaishou over alleged trademark use
Lawsuit filed
ByteDance said it sued Kuaishou, alleging that Kuaishou used brands including Toutiao to direct users to its products through app-store promotions and download links. The article reports that the case was filed by the Haidian Court on March 6 and that evidence exchange had been completed.
Company response
Clarification — ByteDance
我们尚未收到法院通知，具体情况还在了解中。
Source excerpt
字节跳动已就此向快手提起诉讼。
今年年初，我们发现快手在百度、小米应用商店等平台推广中多次使用今日头条等相关产品品牌为快手产品导流。在相关应用商店搜索‘头条’，‘剪映’下载等，出现的均为快手下载链接，为了达到更好的导流效果，快手的下载链接甚至使用了今日头条的商标。
我们尚未收到法院通知，具体情况还在了解中。
2020
Jinri You Tiao responds to lawsuit with public apology
Company response
Jinri You Tiao issued a public letter responding to being sued by ByteDance, the parent company of Jinri Toutiao, over alleged trademark infringement. In the letter, the company apologized for occupying public resources and taking up people's time. The response followed ByteDance's lawsuit against Jinri You Tiao alleging trademark infringement.
Company response
Apology — 今日油条
今日油条对于占用了公共资源以及耗费了大家的宝贵时间深表歉意
Denial — 今日油条员工
无论是“今日”还是“油条”都没有侵权行为。
Source excerpt
目前，今日头条母公司字节跳动已经起诉今日油条商标侵权。
日前“油条公司”针对被起诉一事发公开信作出回应，在公开信中，今日油条对于占用了公共资源以及耗费了大家的宝贵时间深表歉意。
针对“今日头条起诉今日油条商标侵权”一事，今日油条店员表示不解，称我们是油条他们是头条，是商标的哪个字不能用？目前已收到起诉通知，营业正常。
2019
Removal of content concerning Fang Zhimin
The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered ByteDance to remove content on Toutiao that it described as slanderous toward Fang Zhimin, adding to the platform's record of politically sensitive content interventions.
2019
Baidu sues Toutiao over search results
Lawsuit filed
Baidu sued Toutiao, alleging that Toutiao interfered with search results and helped its own Xigua Video service gain an improper competitive advantage. Baidu sought an order to stop the alleged unfair competition and compensation.
Company response
Clarification — 今日头条
头条搜索称，自上线以来，一直支持品牌保护，无论品牌方是否购买头条搜索的广告服务，都会获得这一原则的保护。
Source excerpt
百度认为今日头条作为网络搜索引擎服务提供者，却在帮助自己运营的西瓜视频不当获取竞争优势，该行为干预了搜索结果，掠夺本属于百度的商业机会，于是将今日头条告上法庭，要求今日头条立即停止不正当竞争行为，并赔偿经济损失及合理支出100万元，消除影响。
针对不久前百度公司诉其“干预搜索结果”的百万官司，30日上午今日头条在官方微信公众号上正面做出了声明回应。
百度认为今日头条作为网络搜索引擎服务提供者，却在帮助自己运营的西瓜视频不当获取竞争优势，该行为干预了搜索结果，掠夺本属于百度的商业机会，于是将今日头条告上法庭
2019
Baidu entities sue Toutiao operator over alleged unfair competition
Lawsuit filed
Two Baidu entities sued Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. in court, alleging that Toutiao used their video products as search-ad keywords and interfered with search results. They sought an order to stop the conduct and RMB 1 million in damages and reasonable expenses; the court said it had accepted the case.
Source excerpt
中国知名搜索平台百度以不正当竞争为由将中国应用今日头条的运营商、北京字节跳动科技有限公司诉至法院，要求其立即停止不正当竞争行为，并赔偿经济损失及合理支出，共计100万元
北京市海淀区人民法院今天（19日）发布消息称，该院已经受理此案。
2018
Questionable and counterfeit advertising
CCTV reported that Toutiao carried advertisements for dubious or counterfeit products and that some advertising intermediaries attempted to evade regulatory scrutiny. Toutiao said it banned the implicated advertisers and proxies, dismissed employees and planned stronger controls around outbound advertising destinations.
2018
Tencent defamation and unfair-competition litigation
Tencent sued Toutiao and Douyin over alleged defamatory reporting and reputational damage. ByteDance responded with an unfair-competition complaint against Tencent. The dispute reflected a broader competitive and legal conflict between the two technology groups.
2017
Vulgar, misleading and clickbait content
The Cyberspace Administration of China accused Toutiao of distributing pornographic and vulgar information, reposting news in violation of regulations, using clickbait and harming the online public-discourse environment. Toutiao suspended or closed channels, banned accounts and expanded moderation resources.
2017
Privacy concerns over contact-based recommendations
Users questioned why Toutiao's People You Might Know feature appeared to surface contacts despite concerns about permissions involving Toutiao or WeChat. Toutiao denied improperly possessing or processing private data, while the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology later instructed the service to collect only necessary personal information lawfully.
2014
Copyright infringement and unauthorized content crawling
Toutiao faced a lawsuit from Guangzhou Daily and criticism from China's National Copyright Administration over allegedly crawling and serving traditional-media content from its own servers without adequate authorization. The platform reportedly removed relevant material and began negotiations for formal licensing.