U.S. Opens Investigation Of TikTok, $1B Musically Acquisition

The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment has reportedly launched a national security review of TikTok and it’s China-based owner ByteDance Technology Co’s $1 billion acquisition of U.S. social music app Musical.ly.

The probe is looking into whether or not the Chinese company is censoring content as well as how it stores personal data.

While the acquisition happened 2 years ago, The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews deals by foreign companies for security risks, is now reviewing the Musical.ly deal, sources told Reuters, because TikTok did not seek clearance from CFIUS for the acquisition.

TikTok has 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States, of which 60% are between the ages of 16 and 24.

“While we cannot comment on ongoing regulatory processes, TikTok has made clear that we have no higher priority than earning the trust of users and regulators in the U.S. Part of that effort includes working with Congress and we are committed to doing so,” a TikTok spokesperson told Reuters.

“By law, information filed with CFIUS may not be disclosed by CFIUS to the public,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department.

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