Video sharing social media app, TikTok, has been receiving flak worldwide for its links to China. The app owned by Chinese firm ByteDnace has been accused of stealing users’ data and providing it to China government.
TikTok has already been banned in India and now the U.S. president Donald Trump has also made his intention clear of banning the app. Both the countries have a major audience who use the app frequently, thus, the bar will really make it difficult for TikTok to survive in the market. Considering this, the wildly popular app reportedly wants to “sell itself to Microsoft and other companies”, as per a report by The New York Times.
In his recent statement, Trump had said that he is “weighing harsh actions against TikTok”. This move by the U.S. will abide any company in America to carry out business operations with the Chinese app.
“TikTok has discussed other scenarios to alleviate concerns by U.S. officials. In one scenario, non-Chinese investors like Sequoia capital, SoftBank and General Atlantic could purchase a majority stake in the app from ByteDance, people familiar with the discussion have said,” as per the report by The New York Times.
Following the intense scrutiny in India and the Unites States, reports surfaced earlier claimed that ByteDance may move TikTok headquarters out of China to remove its link from the country.
Media reports also claimed that Microsoft might buy the app, however, Trump hadn’t approved of any spin-off deal with the company in the country. Microsoft, on the other hand, has refrained itself from commenting on the topic.
Meanwhile, TikTok CEO, Kevin Mayer, in his defence posted an open letter. “TikTok has become the largest target, but we are not the enemy. We are taking our first step of many to address these concerns and call on the industry to follow our lead for the benefit of users and creators everywhere,” he said.
