TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance says it has no intention of selling the business after the US passed a law forcing it to sell the wildly popular video app or face a ban in America.
“ByteDance does not intend to sell TikTok,” the company posted on its official account on Toutiao, a social media platform it owns.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.
Earlier this week, TikTok said it would challenge the “unconstitutional” law in court.3
ByteDance’s statement came in response to an article by tech industry website The Information that said it was exploring the possible sale of TikTok’s US operation without the algorithm that powers it.
“Foreign media reports about ByteDance’s sale of TikTok are not true,” the company said in the post, which included a screenshot of the article with Chinese characters meaning “false rumours.”
The sell-or-ban measure was signed into law by US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Beijing’s tightening grip on private companies has raised concerns in the US and other Western countries about the Chinese Communist Party’s control over ByteDance and the data it holds.
TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that the Chinese government controls ByteDance.
“We are confident and will continue to fight for your rights in the courts,” TikTok chief Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted on the platform this week.
“Facts and the Constitution are on our side… rest assured, we’re not going anywhere.”
According to TikTok, the Chinese founder of ByteDance owns 20% of the shares, through controlling shares in the company.
About 60% is owned by institutional investors, including major US investment firms Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group.
The remaining 20% is owned by its employees around the world, and three of ByteDance’s five board members are American.
The Chinese government has also dismissed such concerns as paranoia and has warned that the TikTok ban “will inevitably come back to bite the US”.
However, TikTok does not face an immediate ban in the US.
The new law gives ByteDance nine months to sell the business and an additional three-month grace period before a possible ban is imposed.
That means the sale deadline will likely come sometime in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.