TikTok says US threatens ban if Chinese owners don't sell stakes

TikTok says US threatens ban if Chinese owners don't sell stakes

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a smartphone as Tik Tok logo is displayed behind in this picture illustration taken November 7, 2019. Picture taken November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible U.S. ban, the company told Reuters on Wednesday.

The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the most dramatic in a series of recent steps by U.S. officials and legislators who have raised fears that TikTok‘s U.S. user data could be passed on to China’s government. ByteDance-owned TikTok has more than 100 million U.S. users.

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