President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the Chinese owner of the popular music video app TikTok to sell its US assets, citing national security concerns.
Trump’s decision came after an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews acquisitions of American businesses by overseas investors. ByteDance Ltd. bought the app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with TikTok.
Trump said in the order released on Friday night that ByteDance might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, CFIUS conducted an exhaustive review of the case and unanimously recommended this action to the President in order to protect US users from exploitation of their personal data.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night. TikTok also did not immediately comment on the new order.
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