The Biden administration is reportedly threatening to ban the popular social media app TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, does not sell shares of the enterprise. News of a potential reemerges as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States raises concerns about a potential purge of American user data through the app. Not to mention, several Republican members of Congress have attempted to push the President to ban TikTok.
TikTok has not directly pushed back against recent reports regarding a potential bout. However, the social media company has indicated that a sale of shares wouldn’t solve security data 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,” Maureen Shanahan of TikTok told The Hill.
“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.”
Moving forward, TikTok continues to explore the possibility of routing user traffic through Oracle’s cloud servers. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is also expected to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this month.
