Chinese parent company declares TikTok will not be sold to US entities

• ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, denies plans to sell the company.
• The US President Joe Biden signed the sell-or-ban measure into law on Wednesday.
• TikTok has refuted claims of Chinese government control over ByteDance.

ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, asserts it has no intention of selling the business despite the US passing a law compelling it to do so or face a ban in America. The company conveyed this stance through a post on its official account on Toutiao, a social media platform it owns.

Earlier this week, TikTok announced its intention to challenge the “unconstitutional” law in court. ByteDance stated in response to an article by the technology industry website The Information, which reported that ByteDance was exploring the potential sale of TikTok’s US operations without the algorithm that powers it.

“The company stated in the post that foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true,” accompanied by a screenshot of the article marked with Chinese characters meaning “false rumor.”

US President Joe Biden signed the sell-or-ban measure into law on Wednesday.

Beijing’s tightening grip on private companies has raised concerns in the US and other Western countries about the extent of control the Chinese Communist Party has over ByteDance and the data it holds. TikTok has consistently refuted claims alleging Chinese government control over ByteDance.

“We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts,” said TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew in a video posted on the platform this week.

“The facts, and the Constitution, are on our side… rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.”

According to TikTok, ByteDance’s Chinese founder holds a 20% ownership stake in the company, representing a controlling interest.

Institutional investors, including major US investment firms Carlyle Group, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group, own approximately 60% of the shares.

The remaining 20% ownership is distributed among its global employees, and three out of ByteDance’s five board members are American.

The Chinese government has dismissed such concerns as paranoia and has cautioned that a TikTok ban would “inevitably come back to bite the US.”

However, TikTok does not currently face an immediate ban in the US.

The new law grants ByteDance nine months to sell the business, with an additional three-month grace period, before potentially facing a ban. This implies that the sale deadline would probably occur sometime in 2025 after the winner of the 2024 presidential election assumes office.

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