TikTok is considering severing ties with its parent company ByteDance over national security concerns about its ties with the Chinese Communist Party, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The divestiture would be a last minute recourse if a plan with U.S. officials — known as “Project Texas” — does not carry through. The plan would require the social media platform to implement a number of security measures as lawmakers scrutinize TikTok for ByteDance’s ties to China, according to Bloomberg. The app is also undergoing review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). (RELATED: Dem Operatives Defend Chinese-Owned TikTok As A ‘Valuable’ Political Weapon)
Multiple states have banned the app after reports indicated that ByteDane uses TikTok to track the location of American citizens. One report alleged that Chinese state media used the app to push for Democrat politicians over Republican candidates leading up to the 2022 midterms.
TikTok mulls splitting from ByteDance if proposal with U.S. fails – Bloomberg News https://t.co/r2FE2KehwT pic.twitter.com/EspLEPJ3bO
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 15, 2023
North Carolina and Wisconsin became the latest states to ban the app on government devices in January.
“Neither a ban of TikTok nor a divestiture of TikTok from ByteDance does anything to address national security concerns about data transfers,” a spokesperson for TikTok said. “Under Project Texas, TikTok data for our US users would be held to a significantly higher security standard than any comparable American company.”
