TikTok's management is mulling over whether or not to split away from ByteDance, the Chinese firm that currently owns the app, in order to mitigate any threats to US national security.
'Not a Solution'
According to the sources of South China Morning Post (SCMP), the company would only contemplate a divestiture, which may lead to a sale or initial public offering (IPO), if its current agreement with national security authorities is rejected. The insiders also indicated that the Chinese government would still have to approve any such deal.
In contrast, TikTok's spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter disagrees and says this is not the solution.
To address national security concerns regarding data transfers, "neither a ban of TikTok nor a divestment of TikTok from ByteDance solves anything," said Oberwetter. She added that the software's user data in the US would only be subject to stricter security measures under Project Texas than any other similarly sized American corporation.
Escalating US Scrutiny
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US is now reviewing TikTok for potential threats to national security.
Last year, the company committed to taking several steps to appease US authorities' concerns. Included in Project Texas is creating a three-person government-approved monitoring board and contracting with US tech giant Oracle Corp. to hold US user data and examine its software.
TikTok, according to the sources, does not know whether its plans are adequate to continue operating in the US since the Cfius, a panel of numerous agencies concerned with national security, has halted its process. SCMP's insiders also said that Justice Department committee members have been resistant to accepting TikTok's suggestion.
TikTok is threatened by a slew of bills in Congress, some of which would require the company to branch out. Concerned that the app may be coerced into revealing user data to the Chinese government or used as an instrument of Chinese influence, lawmakers from both parties have suggested several laws to either outright prohibit the app or make it illegal to sell.
CEO Shou Chew of TikTok has been summoned to appear before a House committee next week to discuss the app's data protection and security standards and the company's ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok Bans
In other recent developments involving TikTok bans, a UK cybersecurity institute has said that it would investigate the dangers posed by the app.
In a Tuesday article, on Mar. 14, British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat claimed that he had urged the country's National Cyber Security Center to evaluate the possible hazards presented by the ByteDance-owned social media app.
When asked about the significant subject of whether or not to ban TikTok, Tugendhat said he was waiting for a review from the government's cybersecurity specialists.
His remarks followed those of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had suggested that the country should follow the lead of the US and the European Union in banning the program on government-issued mobile phones and gadgets.
