TikTok, ByteDance reject reports they are caving in to US divestment pressure, putting up a fight against Biden order

TikTok on Friday denied a news report suggesting that the ByteDance-owned platform is laying the technological groundwork for a potential divestment, the latest in a flurry of rebuttals issued by the short video app operator and its Chinese parent as they project a hardline stance against the Biden administration.

The report by Reuters, citing unidentified sources, said TikTok, at the behest of its Chinese owner, has been working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for American users, a move that could lay the groundwork for a divestment of the app's US operations.

TikTok called the report "misleading and factually inaccurate" in a brief statement published to its official account on X, reiterating that the "qualified divestiture" requested by the US government "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally", a line that also appeared in the firm's court filing challenging the Biden administration's order.

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In response, Reuters said it stands by its reporting.

TikTok and Beijing-based ByteDance have been quick in denying recent media reports hinting that the companies might be caving in to pressure from the US government to consider some sort of divestment.

On Thursday, ByteDance denied that it had been mulling a divestment of TikTok's US operations, in response to a report by The Washington Post saying that such a plan existed in 2022. The company called on Chinese social media not to spread related misinformation.

In late April, ByteDance rejected a report by US tech news website The Information that the Chinese firm was "exploring scenarios" of selling a majority stake in TikTok's US operations. Earlier that month, ByteDance denied a report by The Wall Street Journal that its co-founder Zhang Yiming was discussing a sale of TikTok with potential buyers.

ByteDance and TikTok's swift denials have won them praise back in China, where the Chinese company continues to make most of its revenues and profits, thanks to the popularity of Douyin, the local sibling of TikTok.

TikTok and its parent filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, seeking to overturn a bill signed by President Joe Biden that forces ByteDance to divest TikTok's American operations or become banned from all app stores nationwide.

TikTok has been vocal in opposing the order, having mobilised its large user pool in the US to call on the US government to "stop a TikTok shutdown" and petition lawmakers to tell them "what TikTok means" to users.

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