The Biden administration is reportedly threatening the TikTok app with a U.S ban if its Chinese owners don’t sell off its stakes.
This latest development in the government’s years-long focus on the leading social media platform was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday evening, with the publication citing sources close to the situation as stating that the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment demanded the sale in recent days.
TikTok is owned by the China-headquartered tech company ByteDance, which was the subject of similarly targeted talks during Trump’s presidency. In short, the latest governmental rumblings about the app again revive criticism about claimed security issues on the app.
Complex has reached out to a rep for TikTok for comment. This story may be updated. In a statement shared with WSJ and other outlets this week, a spokesperson for the company explained that selling off stakes would not change how data was accessed on the platform. Instead, the spokesperson added, such concerns are already being addressed by way of TikTok’s new national security plan and related vetting practices.
While President Biden himself hasn’t directly addressed the latest reports, he was asked by reporters just last month about a possible ban of the platform. At the time, Biden said he wasn’t certain of the answer to that question; however, he made a point to state that he doesn’t have it on his phone.
Adding to the latter point is last year’s passing of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, a law requiring that TikTok be removed from government devices.
