Zhipu says ZCode security fixes are complete as Tang Jie reportedly files complaint over defamatory post

News Editor

2026-09-21 03:52:46

On Sept. 21, ChainCatcher reported that a social media user known as "Zhang Kangkang kk" said Tang Jie, founder of Zhipu and a professor at Tsinghua University, personally filed a complaint through Xiaohongshu over a user post. The complaint alleged that the post, without factual basis, used phrases linking ZCode to code theft and plagiarism rumors, tied Tang Jie to those claims through derogatory wording, and used AI-generated image compositing to place his portrait in a defamatory context. The complainant said the content amounted to malicious defamation and commercial disparagement, and asked the platform to remove the post and penalize the account involved. On the same day, Zhipu said it had completed remediation for security issues in its standalone desktop AI coding client ZCode, apologized to users, open-sourced the product, and said it would set up a standing product security vulnerability mechanism. The company had previously faced criticism after developers found that ZCode silently uploaded data from users’ local repositories without prior notice. Zhipu publicly apologized and issued an emergency fix on Sept. 18, saying the issue stemmed from a repository indexing feature that was enabled by default and had no option to turn it off. On Sept. 20, Taiyuan Chengming Technology Co., Ltd. sent a letter to Zhipu accusing ZCode of uploading the company’s data assets and trade secrets without authorization and said it reserved the right to pursue legal action.

ChainCatcher said on Sept. 21 that a social media user going by "Zhang Kangkang kk" claimed Tang Jie, founder of Zhipu and a professor at Tsinghua University, personally submitted a complaint through Xiaohongshu over a user's post.

In that complaint, the post was accused of using lines like "code and copy are pretty much the same anyway, both start with c and involve stealing code" with no factual basis, while spreading made-up claims that Zhipu's ZCode had stolen code or was tied to plagiarism. It also called Tang Jie "Uncle Tang Jie," tying him to those plagiarism accusations in what the complaint said was a personal attack. And there was more. The complaint said AI tools had been used to merge Tang Jie's portrait with anime material and place the image in a defamatory context.

The complainant said the content amounted to malicious defamation and commercial disparagement, harmed the reputations of both Tang Jie and Zhipu AI, and asked the platform to delete the post and punish the user who published it.

Zhipu says ZCode remediation has been completed

That same day, Zhipu said it had finished remediation tied to security problems in ZCode, its standalone desktop AI coding client, and apologized to all users.

The company also said it had open-sourced ZCode and turned the code over to the community for public scrutiny. It added that it will set up a permanent product security vulnerability mechanism.

Earlier dispute centered on local repository uploads

Before this, developers had discovered that ZCode was quietly uploading data from users' local repositories without any prior notice.

On Sept. 18, Zhipu issued a public apology and rolled out an emergency fix, saying the root cause was a "repository indexing" feature that was turned on by default and gave users no way to switch it off.

Then on Sept. 20, Taiyuan Chengming Technology Co., Ltd. sent a letter to Zhipu accusing ZCode of uploading the company's data assets and trade secrets without authorization. The company made rights protection claims and said it reserved the right to pursue legal liability.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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