TikTok Expected To Cut Ties With ByteDance, Operate As US Company: Trump Administration

Popular short-form video application TikTok may change ownership and is expected to operate as a United States-based company, according to the White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

What Happened

ByteDance-owned TikTok leaving its China-based holding company is a better option than an outright ban on the app, amid increasing concerns in the U.S. over how it handles data, Kudlow said at a press briefing Thursday, as reported by Reuters. "We haven't made final decisions but...I think TikTok is going to pull out of the holding company which is China-run and operate as an independent American company," the U.S. National Economic Council Director noted. A TikTok spokesperson, reacting to Kudlow's comments, said, the company would not "engage with speculation in the market." He pointed to a previous statement made by ByteDance, which stated that TikTok's owner was "evaluating changes to the corporate structure of its TikTok business."

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday that the U.S. administration is studying national security risks posed by TikTok and Tencent Holdings Limited's TCEHY messaging app WeChat, according to Reuters. The White House official said that a decision on these apps is likely to be taken in the coming weeks. The Trump administration is considering action against TikTok and others under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the powers to regulate foreign companies deemed to pose unusual and extraordinary threats, the New York Times reported.