U.S. government trying to force TikTok to sell its U.S. division: What's next for this social network?

December 27, 2022  18:36

Several U.S. presidential administration officials are pushing for a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations, which would make it impossible for China to use the app to spy on and interfere in U.S. politics.

According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern that TikTok is transferring data from American users to the Chinese government, which could use it for its own political purposes.

The proposal was made by the interagency body of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) during the discussion of the "TikTok issue." CFIUS has been negotiating with the social network for more than two years to localize the data and protect it from Chinese authorities.

Change of the owner is the only solution

The Pentagon and the Justice Department have backed an initiative to force the sale of the U.S. division of TikTok. Representatives of the two agencies said that only complete isolation of the American section of TikTok would deprive Beijing of both access to user data and control over the social network's algorithms, which means that China would then not be able to control exactly what content should be offered to US users.

The U.S. Treasury Department warned that the order to force a change of ownership of the company could be appealed in court. A spokesperson for the agency also said that CFIUS could, however, send a proposal to the White House, under which the only condition for the continuation of the social network in the United States could be a change in ownership.

TikTok claims not to share data with China

The administration of TikTok, as before, claims that it does not and never will give access to the data of users of the social network to the Chinese authorities. Although it was recently revealed that TikTok employees had been spying on American journalists through the app.

TikTok has not commented on the social network's forced sale initiative, but said it could fix the problems the U.S. government has pointed out.

Laws against TikTok

Several U.S. Republican governors have already banned the use of TikTok on devices belonging to government agencies. Such restrictions have been imposed in at least seven states, including Maryland, South Dakota and Utah.

Earlier NEWS.am Tech reported that three U.S. lawmakers introduced a new bill aimed at banning the Chinese social network TikTok from operating in the United States, as the lawmakers believe that TikTok is passing U.S. user data to the Chinese government.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the federal government must take one important step to protect American users from the TikTok threat.

"There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good," he said.

This bill is not the only federal law concerning TikTok. Last year, U.S. lawmakers proposed legislation banning the use of TikTok by federal agencies, and Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would require some app developers to disclose ownership information. Another bill introduced this fall would prohibit TikTok from giving its Chinese employees access to U.S. citizens' user data.


 
 
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