China's ByteDance denies plans to sell TikTok in US

ByteDance denied reports it intends to sell its popular TikTok app within the United States, after US President Joe Biden signed into law a legislation that would effectively ban the app should it not divest from the Chinese tech giant.

"ByteDance does not have any plans to sell TikTok," the company said, as the issue around the ban of TikTok further instigated rising tensions between Beijing and Washington.

During a visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China on Friday, Chinese chief diplomat Wang Yi warned of an increase in the "negative factors" in the relationship between the two countries, claiming that China's right to develop was being "unreasonably suppressed."

What did ByteDance say about a potential TikTok sale?

The Information, a tech-focused US news site, had reported that ByteDance was considering selling its popular app within the US, albeit without its secret sauce — the powerful algorithm that recommends videos to users.

"Foreign media reports about ByteDance exploring the sale of TikTok are untrue," ByteDance posted Thursday on Toutiao, a Chinese-language platform it owns.

TikTok argues it has spent some $1.5 billion (approximately €1.4 billion) on "Project Texas," which would store US data inside the United States. Critics, however, argue data storage is only part of the problem, and that the algorithm must be disconnected from ByteDance.

Even if a sale were to go through, it would be unlikely that the algorithm would be included. A recent Chinese law designated such algorithms as protected technology after former US President Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok in 2020.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the social media company would put up a legal fight in court against the US law calling for its divestment from Chinese ownership, describing the law as a "ban."

Why is Washington trying to ban TikTok?

The newly signed law, which was passed through Congress in conjunction with a large-scale military aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, gives Chinese owner ByteDance nine months to sell the app, with a potential three-month extension if a sale was underway.

Under the law, ByteDance would have to sell the app or be excluded from Apple and Google's app stores in the United States.

TikTok is likely to challenge the bill on the basis of the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech, while some of TikTok's 170 million US users are also expected to take legal action.

US and other Western officials have claimed the social media platform allows Chinese authorities to collect data, spy on users and act as a conduit to spread propaganda. Beijing and ByteDance have both denied the allegations.

A number of Chinese national security laws compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering.

TikTok has denied that it could be used as a tool for the Chinese government or that it has ever shared US user data with Chinese authorities, vowing never to do so even if asked.

rmt/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)