TikTok owner ByteDance has assured no plans are in place for a sale of the video-sharing social media platform, despite a new law in the US attempting to force the move.
“ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok,” the Beijing-based technology firm said on its Toutiao social media page.
“Foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true,” ByteDance added in response to an article in The Information, which claimed a transaction excluding the video site’s algorithm was being explored.
This comes after US lawmakers passed legislation on Wednesday, ruling TikTok must be sold to new owners or face a ban in the country.
Signed by US President Joe Biden, the law came on growing concern over Beijing’s tightening grip on private companies and subsequent fears over the Chinese Communist Party’s involvement in ByteDance and its data from TikTok.
ByteDance owns a controlling stake of 20% in TikTok, while around 60% is owned by institutional investors, including Carlyle Group, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group in the US.
Under the new law, ByteDance has nine months to sell TikTok, followed by a three-month grace period, leaving the deadline in 2025.
ByteDance had said it was “not going anywhere” earlier this week, adding “the Constitution [is] on our side” and that it would “keep fighting in the courts”.