Bytedance is separating TikTok from its Chinese operations
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Bytedance is separating TikTok from its Chinese operations
The company fears it could be forced to sell it off as a result of a US national security review
In brief: TikTok parent company ByteDance wants to avoid the possibility of being forced by the US Committee on Foreign Investment to sell off the popular app. As a result of being investigated on fears of working with the Chinese government, it's taking steps to distance TikTok from its Chinese business.
Following a national security review by the US Committee on Foreign Investments, the company behind TikTok is scrambling to provide assurances that personal data is stored securely and can't be compromised or tapped into by Chinese authorities.
This comes hot on the heels of criticism levied at the company for blocking a teenager that posted about China's Muslim detention camps from her account. Specifically, she made a bait-and-switch video where she asks viewers to use their phones to look up information about the phenomenon while pretending to teach them how to get longer eyelashes.
A TikTok spokesperson said the decision wasn't influenced by the Chinese government and that parent company ByteDance doesn't control the app's policies for content, which is stored in the United States.
Seeing as that is adding to the suspicions of US regulators who believe ByteDance is censoring content at the request of China, the company has started a process of separating TikTok operations from the main firm, which is based in Beijing. In just three months, the company has finished setting up product, marketing, legal, and business development teams that are now independent from those in its Chinese offices, who will continue working on social media app Douyin.