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The Biden administration has warned TikTok it may be banned in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell its stake in the popular video app, according to a TikTok spokesperson.
The U.S. regulator for foreign investments in America, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued the warning to TikTok, the company told Reuters on Wednesday.
The ban would be a significant development in a recent series of moves by U.S. officials and lawmakers, with some who’ve been concerned the app may effectively be a Chinese “spy balloon in your phone.”
TikTok has 100 million users in the United States and 1 billion users worldwide. Its Chinese ownership, however, makes the app dangerous, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
As a China-based company, ByteDance is subject to Chinese law, which requires any company within its borders to hand over data to its ruling communist regime.
TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said CFIUS recently laid out steps for TikTok to satisfy the government’s national security concerns. This includes demands that the Chinese owners of the app sell their shares or face a total ban.
Former President Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok in 2020, citing the same concerns, but was blocked by U.S. courts. The fresh threats are now being led by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“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,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
