August 4, 2020 7:57 AM
But US officials say the app constitutes a national security risk because it could share millions of Americans’ personal data with Chinese intelligence.“I set a date of around Sept 15, at which point it’s going to be out of business in the US,” he said. But Trump also threw a surprise new condition in any deal, saying the sale of TikTok’s US business would have to result in a significant payout to the US Treasury for initiating it.
The app has been under formal investigation on US national security grounds because it collects large amounts of personal data on all its users and is legally bound to share that with authorities in Beijing if they demand it.But being forced by the US government to sell at least its US business or be shut down – and to then split the sale price with the US Treasury as Trump is demanding – was an almost unheard-of tactic.
Earlier Monday, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming acknowledged the hefty pressure and said in a letter to staff, reported by Chinese media, that they were working around-the-clock “for the best outcome”. He said the company must confront the challenge from the US, though “without giving up exploring any possibilities”.