Parent company ByteDance says it does not intend to sell TikTok in the wake of a new law that will see the immensely popular short-form video app banned in the US unless the app’s ties with China are cut, the BBC reports.
“ByteDance doesn’t have any plans to sell TikTok,” the Beijing-headquartered company posted on its official Toutiao account. “Foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true,” it reiterated.
The alleged “false rumour” arose after tech industry website The Information claimed ByteDance was exploring the option of selling TikTok in the US without including its algorithm in the sale.
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US president Joe Biden signed the new law into effect last week, giving ByteDance nine months to relinquish its ownership of TikTok or face the app’s removal from the US market. US lawmakers believe a Chinese-owned TikTok poses risks to national security, as Beijing could theoretically compel ByteDance to hand user data over to the Chinese government.
TikTok has repeatedly denied claims the Chinese government has any control over ByteDance. TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew has said that he was “confident” the app would not be banned in the US.
“We will keep fighting for your rights in the courts,” he told the platform’s users in a video last week. “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.”
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China’s foreign ministry has slammed the bill as “an act of bullying” that would backfire on the US. “[A ban] will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the [US],” it has previously posted on X. Around 170 million Americans use the platform.
Washington has long sought to impose geopolitical, economic and technological constraints on Beijing in an attempt to stymie China’s development. It has banned chip exports to China, prevented US companies from investing in China’s tech sector and banned several large Chinese companies from operating in the US market.
