Thu 16 March 2023:
The Biden administration has reportedly demanded that the Chinese owners of TikTok sell their shares in the well-known video-sharing app or risk having it banned in the US, according to a local media outlet on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported the demand was made by the US Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), citing sources familiar with the situation and describing the action as a “major shift” in the administration’s stance toward TikTok.
According to TikTok executives, 60% of the shares of TikTok parent company ByteDance are owned by foreign investors, 20% by the company’s employees, and 20% by its founders.
TikTok responded by saying that the sale will not address the perceived security risk.
“If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement.
“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,” Oberwetter added.
The White House have yet to comment on the report.
The Chinese-owned video-sharing app, which debuted in 2016, has grown immensely popular worldwide recently, reaching 755 million users worldwide in 2022.
Teenagers in America now use TikTok to the tune of two thirds.
However, it has drawn criticism for giving the Chinese government access to users’ private information, such as their location and browsing history.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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