American authorities demand from the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell their shares. Otherwise they threaten to ban the application in the United States. It was reported today, March 16, TASS, citing the newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, such a demand put forward by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment.
“If the goal is to protect national security, divestment does not solve the problem: A change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access. The best way to address national security concerns is to transparently protect users’ personal data and U.S.-based systems through robust third-party monitoring, checking and verification, which we are already implementing,” the agency quoted TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan as saying in The Hill.
Earlier Bloomberg Agency, citing sources, reported that the leadership of TikTok is considering the possibility of withdrawal from the Chinese technology company ByteDance in order to reduce possible risks to U.S. national security
On March 7, U.S. senators introduced a bill allowing President Joe Biden to ban foreign social networks, including TikTok, which the administration supported. In addition, the House Foreign Affairs Committee supported a similar bill, but it drew criticism from Democrats. It is expected to be voted on by the lower house of the full legislature this month.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China urged U.S. authorities to respect market economy principles and fair competition. Washington, she said, should ensure an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment so that companies from around the world can invest and operate in the United States.