By Samuel Case, FISM News
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said TikTok was under a national security review and that his agency would make a recommendation to the president about the popular app owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance. “TikTok is under CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United State] review. We will be making a recommendation to the president this week so we have lots of alternatives,” Mnuchin said.
This is the first time the U.S. government has acknowledged that TikTok was under review by the CFIUS, which scrutinizes deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks and is led by the Treasury.
A TikTok representative said the company could not comment on CFIUS matters, but added that TikTok was working to “develop a best-in-class security infrastructure” and promote a safe app experience.
While Mnuchin is the first to announce an existence of an official review of TikTok, other government officials have been discussing the future of the app in the U.S. over the last few weeks. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was considering banning the app and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said earlier this month that action was coming in weeks. Even President Donald Trump acknowledged “we are looking at TikTok.”
Sourced from Reuters American Wire, edited for brevity