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Tech analyst and CoinDesk chief of staff of content Pete Pachal discusses the concerns surrounding TikTok, Congress’ push to ban the social media app and journalists testifying in the Twitter hearing.
The Biden administration has demanded TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the app or face a possible ban, according to a report.
The move, reported by The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, is the most dramatic in a series of recent steps by U.S. officials and legislators who have raised fears that TikTok’s U.S. user data could be passed on to China’s government. ByteDance-owned TikTok has more than 100 million U.S. users.
It is also the first time under the Biden administration that a potential ban on TikTok has been threatened. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had tried to ban TikTok in 2020 but was blocked by U.S. courts.
TikTok was dismissive of the Wednesday report that said the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. was responsible for the demand.
“If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: A change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said.
She told The Associated Press that the social media app had already been responding to concerns through “transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification.”
TIKTOK REPORTEDLY HIRES COMMUNICATIONS FIRM WITH NO CONNECTIONS TO BIDEN
The Treasury Department’s foreign investment committee is reportedly threatening to ban TikTok unless it splits from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. ((Photo Ilustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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Last month, the White House gave all federal agencies a period of 30 days to wipe TikTok from government devices. The White House does not currently allow the app on its devices.
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the federal government is in the process of banning TikTok from agency devices. (Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
China accused the U.S. of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok after reports the Biden administration had called for TikTok’s owner to sell their stakes in the platform.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
