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WASHINGTON, March 16 — RIA Novosti. White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby declined to confirm reports of the Joe Biden administration's demand that the Chinese owners of the TikTok social network sell a share under the threat of blocking the application in the United States of America.
«I can't confirm the reports regarding the letter,» he told reporters when asked to confirm the written request to the owners of the app.
Kirby added that Biden still has «justified national security concerns» about TikTok.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources, wrote that the White House requires the owners of TikTok to sell their share, otherwise the application may be banned. According to the Wall Street Journal, TikTok representatives noted on Wednesday that the forced sale would not help address the perceived security risk.
ByteDance, which owns social network TikTok, is reported to be 60% owned by global investors, 20% by employees, and 20% by the company's founders, who have more voting rights. According to the publication, the company should spend $1.5 billion on a program to protect the data and content of American users from access by the Chinese government.
TikTok's management has previously discussed the possibility of a spinoff from Chinese parent company ByteDance to address US national security concerns.