- Multiple reports suggest the Biden administration wants TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
- It is believed that TikTok poses a security risk given it is unclear what data the app collects on users.
- Should a sale not happen, we could be looking at a TikTok ban in the US.
There could be a TikTok ban on the cards if multiple media reports are to be believed. This as the Biden administration is aiming to take a tougher stance on the social media platform, as concerns regarding how user data is collected and stored continue to rise.
Added to this is the fact that TikTok is owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, which has alleged ties to the country’s government.
According to reports from both the Wall Street Journal (paywall) and New York Times (paywall), the White House is looking to escalate its limited bans from earlier this year, and is threatening a full-on ban should a sale to a non-Chinese affiliated company not materialise.
The wheels have already been set in motion granting the US government powers to carry out a TikTok ban, with its Congress introducing a bill earlier this month that would grant the secretary of Commerce the ability to prohibit foreign companies from operating within the borders of the United States.
The social media platform would not be the first Chinese-led company to see a ban, with Huawei having already suffered that fate and placed on an entity list. The result of sanctions against the company have seen it lag far behind competitors globally when it comes to mobile devices, despite vying for top spot with Samsung only a few years ago.
It is likely TikTok would suffer the same fate if a ban were to be imposed, especially if other nations follow the US’ lead, as has been the case with Huawei.
At the time of writing, TikTok is yet to officially comment on the reports, but it looks like the company is coming under increased scrutiny. The same thing happened under former President Trump, with Oracle coming in to assist in terms of US operations.
TikTok is also planning to localise its data storage for the region in an upcoming project, but it looks like those measures will not be enough to appease the US government.
[Image – Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash]
