The Biden administration is demanding that Chinese-owned TikTok be sold, or the popular video app could face a ban in the U.S., according to a TikTok spokesperson.
Whether federal officials have given TikTok a deadline to find a buyer remains unclear. Regardless, it is a major escalation by White House officials who have grown increasingly concerned about the safety of Americans' data on the app used by more than 100 million Americans.
The company is "disappointed in the outcome," said the TikTok spokesperson, about the new demand from U.S. officials.
An American company acquiring TikTok would require the blessing of Chinese officials, who for years have been hostile to the idea of selling off its first global social media success.
For two years, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, has been examining whether U.S. data is properly safeguarded.
The plan relies on the data supervision of Texas-based software company Oracle. It also includes independent monitors and auditors to ensure that neither corporate owner ByteDance, nor Chinese officials, would be able to access U.S. user data.
CFIUS appeared at first to be satisfied with the safety measures TikTok was enacting, though the deal had not been formally approved.
Now, however, CFIUS has rejected TikTok's proposal and is demanding that ByteDance sell the app — something ByteDance has vigorously resisted for years.
During the Trump administration, a media outlet aligned with the Chinese Communist Party called a forced divestiture in the U.S. equivalent to "open robbery."
TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee next Thursday. This comes after a bipartisan bill was unveiled earlier this month that would provide President Biden with the authority to ban TikTok.
CFIUS' demand that TikTok divest from ByteDance would not solve the data concerns lawmakers have with the app, Oberwetter said.
"The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification, which we are already implementing," TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said.
Culture
TikTok content creators weigh in on lawmakers' calls to ban the app amid security concerns
A spokesperson for the Treasury Department declined to comment. ByteDance has not returned a request for comment.
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:07 am
by GuideToACrazyWorld
Go Biden!
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:40 pm
by GuideToACrazyWorld
Every time he releases a video I post it.
Pretty dry material unless you are a total history/political nerd. But a pretty exciting dive into the subject. I do find his point about property ownership giving people the ability to sustain themselves as interesting point. As we now live in a society where it is impossible to live a self-sustained life legally.
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:18 pm
by Mysterious Cat
THIS JUST IN: Biden plan to appeal to young voters includes approving massive oil drilling, banning Tik Tok
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
THIS JUST IN: Biden plan to appeal to young voters includes approving massive oil drilling, banning Tik Tok
HA...he is walking a fine line, personally, as a left-leaning moderated center independent...I am ok with him doing both...in order to win he has to win back some of the people we lost, and he still has done a lot of the stuff younger people seem to want, though I personally don't get them at all...especially once they start blaming me for the state of the world and all their problems...lol...and calling me useless to boot...among other things
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Aren't you polite and civil...sigh...you can disagree with policy all you want, saying nasty things about him is wrong, just wrong
I acknowledge my post was somewhat blunt and for the more tender hearts out there I can soften my comment .. and will - right now.
'go JOE go ! Take a long walk off a short pier'
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Aren't you polite and civil...sigh...you can disagree with policy all you want, saying nasty things about him is wrong, just wrong
I acknowledge my post was somewhat blunt and for the more tender hearts out there I can soften my comment .. and will - right now.
'go JOE go ! Take a long walk off a short pier'
Ok, that is better...lol...
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
I acknowledge my post was somewhat blunt and for the more tender hearts out there I can soften my comment .. and will - right now.
'go JOE go ! Take a long walk off a short pier'
Do you think we should allow the largest spyware operation in history to propagate through our country unchecked? Or are you just going to attack Biden even when you agree with him?
Re: (Thursday PO) The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:35 pm
by Slip Shod
Spying and spyware " that is the question ". It's a game of one up & having/taking advantage and might be said everyone everywhere is doing it - Big business, international intrigues, country against country, countries against their own people. It's the elephant in the room that no one really sees cuz it's everywhere. It's on your phone, in incorporate boardrooms - in other words it's immense.
I could say 'Now stop that !' that & $6 can get you a cup of coffee
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Our world now is where all the little people are naked & next they're coming for your life
Yeah, go Biden go, go to hell