Reuters: ByteDance Prefers to Shut Down TikTok in the U.S. Rather than Selling It

Reuters reported on Thursday in an exclusive story citing knowledgeable sources that ByteDance, the owner of the TikTok application, would prefer to shut down this 'loss-making' app in the U.S. rather than sell it. According to a bill passed by the U.S. Congress this week, which has now become law with the President's signature, if ByteDance does not divest ownership of TikTok within a year, its operations in the United States will be banned. Sources close to ByteDance say that the algorithms TikTok relies on are at the core of ByteDance's overall operations, making it highly impractical to sell the app along with the algorithms. They stated that TikTok accounts for a small portion of ByteDance's total active users and daily revenue, so they would prefer, in the 'worst-case scenario,' to shut down TikTok in the U.S. rather than sell it to an American company. Reuters, citing these sources who wished to remain anonymous, reported that shutting down TikTok in the U.S. would have a limited impact on ByteDance's business and would not force the company to abandon its core algorithms. Many U.S. lawmakers and officials believe TikTok poses national security risks to the U.S. because China could compel the company to hand over data on its 170 million American users. Congress passed a bill that requires ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to either divest the app to an American company or face a ban on its operations in the United States. This legislation was enacted on Wednesday with Biden's signature. Concerns in the U.S. Congress about China's potential misuse of TikTok for spreading misinformation have been raised. A bipartisan resolution in the House of Representatives states that TikTok's operations will be banned 'if divestment does not occur.' U.S. lawmakers have warned ByteDance: if you do not divest ownership of TikTok, its operations will be prohibited. Verification: TikTok claims the use of an old account as a Russian attack on Israel. Chinese live-stream sellers on TikTok are targeting buyers in the U.S. and Europe. The Chinese app is under suspicion of spying on users; TikTok executives are visiting Iran.