The FBI and the Department of Justice are investigating the events that led TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to use the app to surveil American journalists, according to sources familiar with the departments’ actions. (Forbes)
ByteDance in December revealed user data from the short-form video app was obtained to study journalists’ locations as part of an internal investigation into information being shared with the media. (FT)
News of the investigation comes at a moment when ByteDance is facing mounting pressure to sell its stake in TikTok. The company confirmed that US officials have said that TikTok will face a possible ban in the United States if ByteDance doesn’t separate itself from the video app. (Engadget)
TikTok has what many Silicon Valley companies lust after: A culture-making machine beloved by 100 million Americans and deep-pocketed advertisers. That doesn’t mean they will line up to buy it. (NYT)