President Trump is expected to force Chinese-owned ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations as calls to investigate the popular video platform increase on Capitol Hill.
The president is said to be readying an address on the app, which has surged in popularity over the past year, amid concerns about its data collection practices and its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese multinational internet technology company ByteDance and is headquartered in Beijing, has come under increased scrutiny by members of Congress in recent months.
On Thursday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley sent a letter to the Department of Justice that urged for an inquiry into TikTok as well as the video conferencing company Zoom, questioning both businesses’ communications with the Chinese government.
It remains unclear whether Trump has the executive power to force ByteDance, a foreign company, to sell ownership of its assets in the United States. Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino reported earlier in the day that tech giant Microsoft is interested in buying TikTok’s U.S. operation.
Bloomberg reached out to both the Trump administration and TikTok, but neither provided comment on the report.
