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ByteDance rejects US report about its purported plan since 2022 to divest TikTok’s operations in America
- ByteDance has called on Chinese social media not to spread such misinformation after declaring the report as untrue
- This marked the third public denial by ByteDance, which joined TikTok in filing a federal lawsuit to block the US government’s divest-or-ban measure
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TikTok owner ByteDance has again denied that it considered divesting the US operations of its popular short video platform, in response to a report by The Washington Post on Wednesday that such a plan existed in 2022.
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In a brief statement on Thursday, Beijing-based ByteDance called on Chinese social media not to spread such misinformation after declaring the report as untrue.
This marked the third public denial from ByteDance after rejecting a report by US digital publication The Information in April that the firm was “exploring scenarios” to sell a majority stake in TikTok’s US operations. That followed its denial of a report by The Wall Street Journal earlier that month about co-founder Zhang Yiming having discussions of a sale to potential buyers.
The official denials issued by ByteDance show the company’s confidence in challenging the legality of the US government’s divest-or-ban measure against the social media platform.
ByteDance and TikTok filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to block a US measure – signed into law by US President Joe Biden in April – that would force the Chinese firm to divest the short video platform’s operations in America or get banned from all app stores nationwide.
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