The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration called on Chinese TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the app.
The video-sharing platform responded dismissively to the report, saying that a divestment would not improve national security in the U.S.
- The
U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, a division of the Treasury
Department, threatened to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless
Beijing-based ByteDance sells its stake in the platform, according to
the Wall Street Journal.
- Maureen Shanahan, a spokesperson for
TikTok, said that "the best way to address concerns about national
security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user
data."
- Shanahan said the company is already
implementing "third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification," to
address U.S. national security concerns.
Zoom Out:
- TikTok said in December that it is developing "security and data privacy plans," in accordance with a national security review being conducted by the Biden administration.
- The White House ordered federal
agencies last month to remove TikTok from all government devices to
address "the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.”
