The Biden Administration has asked TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell its stake in the video-sharing app or risk the popular social media app being banned in the U.S.
ByteDance is a Chinese company based in Beijing. The request comes amid
growing concerns that TikTok poses a national security risk to the U.S.
and its U.S. users.
- According to sources, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (Cfius) made the sale demand recently.
- Responding to the sale demand, TikTok said selling stakes in the company would not address the perceived security risk.
- TikTok
CEO Shou Zi Chew said divesting the company from its Chinese owners
would not offer any more protection than the multibillion-dollar plan it
has already proposed.
- The
plan includes storing U.S. users’ data in the U.S. and protecting U.S.
users from Chinese government access or influence on content shown on
the app.
- Chew is a Singaporean military-officer reservist and former Goldman Sachs banker.
- He is expected to appear before the U.S. Congress next week.
