U.S. investors are reportedly attempting to buy a majority stake in the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok as the White House considers banning the app due to national security concerns.
The Guardian reports that tech investors in the U.S. led by the venture capital firms General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital are in discussions with regulators about an option to acquire the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok in order to avoid a ban of the app in the United States over national security concerns.
Breitbart News recently reported that lawmakers voted 336-71 to pass a proposal offered by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) to ban the use of the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on federal-issued devices as part of a package of bipartisan amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.
The ban of the app on federal-issued devices would extend to members of Congress and congressional staff. During a floor speech on Monday, Buck referred to TikTok as a “serious national security threat” and stated that the data the company collects from U.S. consumers “could be used in a cyberattack against our republic” if shared with the Chinese government.
President Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said last week that TikTok could “pull out” of the Chinese holding company ByteDance that it currently operates under and “operate as an independent American company” in order to possibly avoid being banned in the U.S.
Breitbart News reported earlier this month that executives at TikTok have reportedly begun discussing options for the company, such as the creation of a new management board for TikTok as well as establishing a separate headquarters outside of China in efforts to distance itself from its Beijing operations.
Currently, TikTok does not have separate headquarters from its Chinese owner Bytedance, which was founded in China and incorporated in the Cayman Islands. TikTok is reportedly considering a number of locations for its global base. The company’s five largest offices are already based in Los Angeles, New York, London, Dublin, and Singapore.
In a statement, TikTok commented: “We will move forward in the best interest of our users, employees, artists, creators, partners, and policy makers.” On Tuesday, President Trump stated that his administration is considering banning TikTok in the United States as a possible method of retaliation against China over its handling of the Wuhan coronavirus.
It’s unclear how far along talks with U.S. investors are or how much TikTok may sell for. ByteDance was valued at $75bn in 2018 but TikTok is not yet believed to be profitable. However, the app has been downloaded over 2 billion times worldwide. Between January and March, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times beating any other app ever for a single quarter.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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