Even as Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy TikTok, the United States is preparing to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets for the short video app over concerns that Chinese ownership could jeopardize personal data, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. News outlets including Fox Business and The New York Times reported Friday that Microsoft is in talks to buy the U.S. version of TikTok. ByteDance and the U.S. Treasury Department, which chairs the government panel that has been reviewing ByteDance's ownership of TikTok, declined to comment. ByteDance acquired Shanghai-based video app Musical.ly in a $1 billion US deal in 2017 and relaunched it as TikTok the following year. The United States has been increasingly scrutinizing app developers over the personal data they handle, especially if some of it involves U.S. military or intelligence personnel.

Source: CBC News July 31, 2020 19:52 UTC