The US administration is tightening its approach to the short video service TikTok. If the operating company ByteDance does not sell the shares, a ban is threatened in the USA, reports the New York Times, citing people who are familiar with the processes.
TikTok has received the new demands of the US administration in the last few weeks. According to the New York Times, it is a change of course by the Biden administration. To date, the goal has been to negotiate an agreement that provides for enhanced security measures to protect American user data.
Now the deal that TikTok was supposed to negotiate with the US administration's Committee on Foreign Investments (CFIUS) seems off the table. This now also transmitted the new ultimatum. The focus of the decision is the protection of national security.
TikTok confronted with allegations of espionage
Abuse and espionage are feared if the Chinese state accesses TikTok user data via ByteDance. The company denies the allegations. At the end of 2022, however, it became known that TikTok was monitoring several US journalists who were dealing with the short video service. ByteDance CEO Rubo Liang apologized for the incidents and spoke of “misconduct by a few individuals”.
But doubts about the app operator's actions increased. Added to this is the geopolitical conflict between the USA and China, which is already affecting other companies such as Huawei.
TikTok itself is now reacting with disappointment in view of the US government's initiative. They have promised to store American user data in the USA in the future. That's greater protection than a sale that doesn't change anything in the data infrastructure, according to a TikTok spokeswoman, according to the New York Times.
The pressure is also increasing in Europe
With over a billion users, it is TikTok is one of the largest social networks in the world, the platform has more than 100 million users in the USA. The short video service is the market leader, especially among young people. However, national security concerns have long accompanied the service. The Trump administration was already planning a ban, and later they wanted to force the purchase by a US company. However, a takeover never materialized.
Meanwhile, the pressure is also increasing in Europe. Due to security concerns, both the EU Commission and the EU Parliament are now banning the app on service devices.
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