By Matthew Selman
The Biden Administration is demanding that Tik Tok be sold to an American company, or they are threatening to ban the app. Tik Tok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company that has denied previous requests to sell the app during the Trump Administration.
American officials have been skeptical of Tik Tok for years, believing the app was illegally selling American citizens information to the Chinese government. A spokesperson for the Chinese government says there has been no evidence showing that the Chinese government breached national security.
In 2020, former President Donald Trump attempted to ban Tik Tok. Even though the courts blocked this action, it still put pressure on ByteDance to sell Tik Tok’s United States assets. ByteDance attempted to sell parts of the company to Walmart and Oracle, but they were unsuccessful. Tik Tok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew is supposed to appear before the US Congress next week. It is still unclear whether Tik Tok is planning to sell their American stake in the company or not. Either way, Chew will have to answer important questions about the company’s future plans with the app.
The White House gave government agencies 30 days to remove and make sure Tik Tok is not on any federal devices. While many states are complying with removing Tik Tok from federal devices, some states are hesitant due to the potential political ramifications it can cause. Millions of Americans use Tik Tok for hours a day, and use it as their main source of news and entertainment. If ByteDance is not willing to sell their stake in the company, and the app is banned, millions of people will despise the current administration.
beniciapaw.com 