ByteDance, the Chinese-based parent company of the social media site TikTok, has plenty of time to sell it, and its failure to do so proves the app is used for spying, Sen. Tom Cotton said Friday.
"ByteDance and its Chinese Communist masters had nine months to sell TikTok before the Sunday deadline," the Arkansas Republican said in a post on X after the Supreme Court upheld a law banning the video-sharing giant unless it is sold.
"The very fact that Communist China refuses to permit its sale reveals exactly what TikTok is: a communist spy app," Cotton added. "The Supreme Court correctly rejected TikTok’s lies and propaganda masquerading as legal arguments."
A lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance told the court that it would be difficult to sell the ownership of the site, as Chinese law restricts the sale of its proprietary algorithm.
The ban claims that TikTok is used to collect users' data including sensitive information on their viewing habits. In addition, officials warn that the site's algorithm fueling what users see can be manipulated by Chinese authorities.