White House to TikTok owners: Sell stakes in app or face national ban

TikTok’s CHinese owners were advised to sell their shares through the app or face a national ban from the White House. This is a noteworthy shift in policy by Biden’s administration.

According to the Associated Press, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (an interdepartmental agency that examines transactions with international companies) made the request for ByteDance, a Chinese parent company. Wall Street Journal. According to some reports, TikTok would be sold off by its parent company. Chinese Communist Party Legislators have begun to investigate the company in light of possible national security concerns.

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The app’s owners don’t seem to believe that such an offer would resolve their concerns. “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,” Brooke Oberwette, TikTok spokesperson, stated 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.”

TikTok spent $1.5 billion on the “”Project Texas,” an effort by all U.S. users to move to city servers so that they are protected against alleged Chinese government requests. Critics question whether the project is sufficient to ensure that data are adequately protected.

Congress also has pushed its efforts To restrict TikTok in the U.S. These include Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), which bans the app entirely, and Sen. Mark Warner’s (D-VA), that provides a restriction on TikTok. Extra powers To determine whether certain business deals pose security risks, contact the Commerce Department.

Since the Trump administration’s 2020 election, Republicans have advocated for TikTok to be banned. Although Democrats are hesitant to ban TikTok, many have cosponsored Warner’s Restricting Security Threats That Risk Information and Communication Technology Act (RESTRICT).

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Chinese authorities could also be Resistant to such a sale, and could attempt to block the sale if it went through.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew She will be speaking before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, March 23.