TikTok says Biden administration is threatening US ban if Chinese owners don't sell stakes
The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok if the app's Chinese owners do not sell their stakes in the company, according to the video-sharing app.
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and used by more than 100 million people in the U.S., has come under fire from lawmakers over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to gain access to private user data or spread misinformation.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, launched a national security review of the app in 2020. Former President Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok that year but was blocked in court. More recently, TikTok has been banned by certain universities, states and federal agencies over security concerns.
The sale demand was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. CFIUS did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and TikTok declined to discuss specifics around the government's request.
TikTok argues a divestment wouldn't solve concerns over national security.
"A change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said in a statement.
The company said in June that it was committed to improving its safety controls and would be routing all U.S. user traffic to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure "to better safeguard our app, systems, and the security of US user data."
“The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification, which we are already implementing," Shanahan said.
The White House declined to confirm the letter on Thursday.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters that Biden has national security concerns about TikTok, as evidenced by the ban on government devices.
"I'm not going to get ahead of the CFIUS review," Kirby said of a national ban. "The president has already made very clear his concerns over that particular app, TikTok, on the use of government devices, because we have legitimate national security concerns with respect to data integrity that we need to observe."
Contributing: White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers
Dig deeper:
- Federal agencies have 30 days to remove TikTok from government-issued devices, White House says
- 'Foreign technology threats': Commerce secretary could ban TikTok under bipartisan bill
- Could we see an all-out TikTok ban in the US? Here's what we know.
- White House has 'concerns' about TikTok, wants Congress to act against security threat
- Tick-tock, TikTok: As Biden sets deadline for ban of social media app, here's what we know
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