The US government is pressuring ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns. TikTok has proposed a $1.5 billion security plan to protect user data from Chinese government influence, but the Biden administration insists on a change of ownership. At the same time, TikTok is under investigation for spying on US journalists.TikTok could be banned completely
The US pressure on the Chinese ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, continues uninterrupted. The USA stated that ByteDance must sell its shares in TikTok, otherwise the application will be completely banned in the USA. Although ByteDance owns 60 percent of TikTok, the popular social media app says the problem will not be resolved even if ownership changes. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said, “If the goal is to protect national security, the sale transaction does not solve the problem: The change of ownership does not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.”
Instead, TikTok has offered an alternative plan worth $1.5 billion to implement a system that will protect US customers’ personal information and platform content from Chinese government influence. TikTok currently keeps US users’ data on Oracle servers. This decision was taken last year, but it seems that this was not enough to address the concerns of the US. Next week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will appear before Congress, and there will apparently be a tough questioning.TikTok admitted to spying on US journalists
Meanwhile, in December, ByteDance announced that TikTok laid off four of its employees who spied on two US journalists. Now, Forbes, the FBI and the Justice Department are reportedly investigating the case. A ByteDance spokesperson said in a statement that their internal investigations are continuing and they are open to any kind of cooperation. TikTok is currently banned from government devices in the US, European Union and UK.
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