In light of the raging war of criticism that TikTok is facing in the United States and elsewhere, especially in Europe, due to its association with the Chinese government, the US government has asked ByteDance to sell its shares in the widespread application or face its ban in America.
This ultimatum came to “Tik Tok” by the US agency charged with evaluating the risks posed by foreign investments to national security, according to what was reported by the “Wall Street Journal”.
“It won’t solve the problem”
However, TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwater emphasized in response to this “bitter choice” that forced selling would not solve the problem nor address perceived security risks. “If protecting national security is the goal, divestment does not solve the problem,” it said in a statement, adding that the change of ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flow or access.
These developments came days after the Republican and Democratic parties submitted a bill to the US Senate that would allow President Joe Biden to ban TikTok.
Tik Tok (Reuters)
This project was welcomed by the White House, according to what US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced in a statement last week, saying at the time: “The bipartisan bill would enable the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services in a way that poses a threat to sensitive data of Americans.” And our national security.”
Another law against him
Support for the bill in the Senate and the White House has boosted political momentum against TikTok, against which another bill is also being prepared in the House of Representatives.
Hardline anti-China bills are rare with bipartisan support in Congress, where Republicans dominate in the House of Representatives and Democrats in the Senate.
It is noteworthy that the Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, had taken a firm stance regarding the application during the last period, for fear of misuse of user data by Chinese officials.
Tik Tok (AFP)
In contrast, TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide, including more than 100 million in the United States, claims that users’ data is protected.
He also denies constantly sharing his data with the Chinese government, and says he has been cooperating with Washington for about two years to address its national security concerns.
However, fears about him have grown recently in America, especially after the spy balloon crisis, which reinforced the hostile attitudes of many politicians against Beijing, and its efforts to hack the data of citizens and officials.
