China Prefers TikTok Ban In U.S.

Nearly three years after the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok if its Chinese owner didn’t sell the company to US investors, the video app is once again facing an existential threat, Laura He wrote for CNN.

Photo Insert: The clamor for a sale seems to have grown even louder after the grilling Chew received in Washington.

On Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew appeared before US lawmakers, many of whom want the app banned in the US because of the risk they say it presents to national security.

The clamor for a sale seems to have grown even louder after the grilling Chew received in Washington. China responded for the first time on Thursday, saying it would “firmly” oppose a forced sale of TikTok. Curiously, TikTok doesn’t operate in China.

But an outright divestment isn’t in the cards, according to analysts and legal experts, not least because the Chinese government views TikTok’s technology as sensitive and has taken steps since 2020 to ensure it can veto any sale by its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance.

At issue is who owns the keys to TikTok’s algorithms and the data collected from 150 million people in the US who use the app each month.

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