Chinese SNS TikTok, Under Pressure to Oust Trump, Finally Sells US Business

Renegotiations Underway to Transfer Entire Stake to MS
Possibility of Sale to US Companies Other Than MS Also Considered

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing social networking service (SNS) that had been under pressure to exit by the Donald Trump administration, has decided to completely sell off its U.S. business.

According to major foreign media on the 1st (local time), ByteDance, the Chinese internet company and parent company of TikTok, has decided to sell TikTok's U.S. business.

This decision appears to have been made to find a compromise with the White House after President Trump announced the day before that TikTok would be banned in the U.S.

Initially, ByteDance was negotiating with Microsoft (MS) to sell TikTok's U.S. business while intending to retain a minority stake. However, after the White House rejected this, ByteDance reportedly proposed to MS to completely withdraw from the U.S. market. It is also reported that other U.S. companies besides MS are being considered as potential buyers of TikTok.

If the sale to MS is finalized, MS will be responsible for protecting all information of American users going forward.

The White House declined to comment on whether President Trump would accept ByteDance's concession proposal.

TikTok has 80 million daily active users in the U.S. alone and is very popular especially among teenagers.

President Trump has continuously pressured the Chinese company TikTok to exit the U.S., citing national security threats. The concern is that if the Chinese government demands information and censorship from TikTok, TikTok might hand over American users' information.

TikTok stated, "We have no plans to go anywhere," emphasizing once again that it has the most jobs within its U.S. corporation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.