It will be reminded that ByteDance management has previously considered the possibility of selling TikTok-related assets in the US or taking the company to an IPO. At the same time, the Chinese owners would hold a small portion of the business without the right to influence management decisions.

TikTok representatives insist that the change of ownership will have little impact on information security and that it would be best to transfer the infrastructure of the American segment of the social network to a trusted organization or company such as Oracle.

TikTok has already invested $1.5 billion in this initiative, called Project Texas, but US officials have expressed doubts about its viability. Additionally, a former employee of the social network recently said that the project actually has many vulnerabilities.

Distribution or ban

The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Joseph Biden supported TikTok’s request to separate its American business from ByteDance. TikTok CEO Shaw Zi Chu will appear before US lawmakers next week to question him about the company’s ties to the Chinese government.

Getting rid of US assets is seen by TikTok as the last step the social network will take if all other steps to ensure US national security are not recognized by the US.

The world against TikTok

Currently, the TikTok application is actively banned in various countries of the world. Therefore, employees of the US, Canadian and European governments cannot use the social network on their personal or work devices. The US Senate is also preparing a bill that would authorize the White House to completely block service in the US.

TikTok management promises to fix issues with the platform’s security and data privacy. In practice, however, the company doesn’t seem to be really trying to achieve this, it seems like it wants to cover its tracks in the best way possible and still leave a loophole that is likely to put pressure on the Chinese government. ByteDance itself.