US government threatens to ban TikTok it’s sold off from Chinese owner
The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners give up their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible US ban, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The move is the most dramatic in a series of recent moves by U.S. officials and lawmakers who have raised concerns that U.S. TikTok user data could be shared with the Chinese government. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, has over 100 million users in the US.
In addition, for the first time under the administration of President Joe Biden, there was a threat of a potential ban on TikTok.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, tried to ban TikTok in 2020 but was blocked by US courts.
TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter told Reuters that the company had recently received word from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), led by the US Treasury Department, which demanded that Chinese owners of the app sell their shares and said they would face fines if they did not. . a possible US ban on the video app.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the move. ByteDance has confirmed that 60% of its shares are held by global investors, 20% by employees and 20% by founders.
On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry responded that the United States has yet to provide evidence that TikTok threatens national security. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at the daily briefing that the United States should stop cracking down on such companies.
CFIUS, the influential national security body, unanimously recommended that ByteDance get rid of TikTok in 2020. Under pressure from then-President Trump, ByteDance tried unsuccessfully in late 2020 to complete a deal with Walmart and Oracle to move TikTok’s US assets into a new entity.
“If the goal is to protect national security, the takeover will not solve the problem: the change of ownership will not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access to them,” a Tiktok spokesperson said in a statement.
TikTok CEO Show Zi Chu is due to address the US Congress next week. It’s unclear whether the Chinese government will approve any sale, and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the White House gave government agencies 30 days to make sure they don’t have TikTok on federal devices and systems. More than 30 US states have also banned employees from using TikTok on government devices.
Any US ban would face significant legal hurdles and potential political repercussions as TikTok is popular with millions of young Americans.
TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating data security requirements for more than two years. TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on strict data security measures and denies allegations of espionage.
TikTok said on Wednesday that “the best way to address national security concerns is to transparently protect U.S. user data and systems with robust third-party monitoring, validation, and verification.”
Last week, the White House backed a bill by a dozen senators giving President Joe Biden the power to ban Chinese-owned TikTok and other foreign technology if it poses a national security risk.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak will reportedly ban employees from using TikTok on their work phones today.
The UK government did not rule out a complete ban on TikTok this week due to “security risks”.
MORE: UK Government ‘to ban employees from using TikTok on work phones’
MORE: Government not ruling out total ban on TikTok due to ‘security risks’
