By Milcah Tanimu
TikTok, the widely used social media platform, has firmly denied any connections to the Chinese government.
Owned by ByteDance, a technology firm headquartered in Beijing, TikTok’s denial comes as it faces a potential business disruption in the United States. Recent legislation signed by President Joe Biden requires ByteDance to divest TikTok to an American company by January 2025 or face a ban.
This legislation follows the U.S. Justice Department’s claim that TikTok poses a national security threat by potentially enabling the Chinese government to access American user data and influence content.
In response, TikTok has contested these allegations in federal court, asserting that the Justice Department has misrepresented its relationship with China.