U.S. threatens TikTok ban unless Chinese owners sell stake

Adding to the mounting tension between TikTok and governments everywhere, the Biden administration has reportedly demanded that Chinese company ByteDance sell TikTok — or face a total ban.

TikTok first told the Wall Street Journal that Beijing-based ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is being asked to divest itself from the app in order to cut ties with China. The app first faced the possibility of a ban under the Trump administration in 2020.

Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok, told WSJ, "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." The statement continued to say "robust third-party monitoring" is the right path: "The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems."

In January, the app announced that it has put $1.5 billion towards Project Texas, TikTok's plan to supposedly protect U.S. user data from Chinese government access.

According to reports from the BBC and The Information, people familiar with the matter say the initial WSJ report was "overstated" and that the ban was implied.

However, the story was not disputed. The development is an additional indication that the U.S. is taking a stronger stance against the app amid security concerns and alleged data collection. ByteDance is currently deciding how to respond to the demand. TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew is also set to testify before Congress next week.

TikTok has more than 100 million users in the country. Meanwhile, here's everything you need to know about the TikTok ban in the U.S.