China-based technology company ByteDance is on a charm offensive, reports Reuters, ramping up efforts to distance its popular social app TikTok from the rest of its Chinese operations.
The PR moves coincide with a U.S. national security panel inquiry into the risks of a China-based company managing personal data of Americans, reports Reuters.
The Chinese technology company is seeking to provide assurances to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that personal data held by TikTok, which is widely popular with U.S. teenagers, is stored securely in the United States and will not be compromised by Chinese authorities, the sources said.
CFIUS, which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, is looking into ByteDance's $1 billion acquisition of social media app Musical.ly in 2017, which laid the foundations for TikTok's rapid growth, Reuters reported earlier this month.
ByteDance's response represents a key test of corporate China's ability to operate businesses in the United States that handle personal data, as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China fans suspicion between the world's two largest economies.
Exclusive: China's ByteDance moves to ringfence its TikTok app amid U.S. probe – sources [REUTERS]
