TikTok Seeks To Stay In U.S. Despite Security Risks

TikTok is offering to operate more of its business at arm's length and subject it to outside scrutiny as it tries to convince the US to allow it to remain under the ownership of Chinese technology company ByteDance, according to people familiar with the matter, Echo Wang and David Shepardson reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The developers of the popular app have been under fire in the US since the Trump administration.

TikTok has been seeking to assure US government departments and agencies for the last three years that the personal data of US citizens cannot be accessed and its content cannot be manipulated by China's Communist Party or any other entity under the influence of that country's government.

Last year, President Joe Biden revoked an executive order by his predecessor Donald Trump to ban TikTok in the US, but negotiations between his administration and the social media company continued over a potential deal that would address the security concerns.

US lawmakers seeking to crack down on China as part of broader set of disputes over trade, intellectual property and human rights have seized on the security concerns over TikTok to pressure the White House to take a hard line.

TikTok has already unveiled several measures aimed at appeasing the US government, including an agreement for Oracle Corp. to store the data of the app's users in the US and a US Data Security (USDS) division to oversee data protection and content moderation decisions.

It has spent $1.5 billion on hiring and reorganization costs to build up that unit, according to a source familiar with the matter.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic