US Officials Probe TikTok Over National Security Concerns
The U.S. government launches a national security review into TikTok's acquisition of Musical.ly, focusing on potential censorship and data storage practices by its Chinese parent company.
The U.S. government launches a national security review of TikTok and its Chinese parent company, Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) investigates ByteDance's $1 billion acquisition of the U.S. social media app Musical.ly, a deal that completes two years ago without the required security clearance.
U.S. lawmakers express growing concerns about the popular video app as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate. Investigators focus on whether the Chinese owners censor politically sensitive content and examine how the application handles and stores the personal data of its American users.
TikTok remains highly popular among American teenagers, with about 60 percent of its 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States falling between the ages of 16 and 24. CFIUS currently engages in talks with TikTok regarding potential mitigation measures to address these security risks and avoid forcing the company to divest its Musical.ly assets.