TikTok to cut Chinese ties? Platform considers splitting from ByteDance if negotiations with US fail
TikTok to cut Chinese ties? Platform considers splitting from ByteDance if negotiations with US fail
The last couple of months have been difficult for all major Chinese businesses operating in the United States of America, but no other company has had it worse than TikTok, the social video-sharing app.
The situation has become so bad for TikTok that they are considering cutting ties with their Chinese parent organisation, ByteDance, just to keep operating in the US.
TikTok to cut ties with China?
As per a report by Bloomberg, people working in TikTok US have said that the management of TikTok’s US office is planning to propose separating from parent ByteDance to help assuage US concerns about national security risks.
The process of separation will take place through a divestiture, which basically is a process of selling off subsidiary business interests or investments. This would result in either a direct sale, or an IPR and is being considered a last resort.
The only way that TikTok’s divestiture plan goes ahead, is if the company’s existing proposal to the US national security officials is rejected, and if the US continues to look for ways to ban the app and the platform on a federal level.
TikTok’s desperate measures
TikTok has been undergoing a national security review, which is being conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). TikTok agreed last year to let follow a number of steps under a plan that the social media giant is calling Project Texas.
Project Texas has been drawn keeping hostile US senators and governors in mind, who are hell bent in getting the app banned across the country, as long as it poses a security threat and continues to not handle the data of US citizens responsibly.
CFIUS has stalled in its process, leaving TikTok unsure of whether its plans will be sufficient to continue operating in the country, according to the report. CFIUS members have also refused to accept TikTok’s proposal, but they also haven’t rejected it.
Is TikTok lying?
Recently, a former TikTok employee came forward as a whistleblower and told investigative members of the US Congress that TikTok is lying about the measures it plans to take and that Project Texas won’t do anything to stop China from spying on US citizens as much as it already does.
TikTok, which is used by over 100 million Americans, has come under increased scrutiny due to concerns that user data could wind up in the hands of the Chinese government, jeopardising Western security interests. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the United States House next week.
Also read: Surprise, surprise: TikTok lying about Chinese spying, former employee tells US Congress
Because of concerns that user data could be passed on to China’s government, CFIUS, a strong national security authority, had unanimously suggested that ByteDance divest TikTok back in 2020.
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