Today, Bytedance issued a statement this afternoon in response to the U.S. executive order, saying that the President’s latest executive order did not follow due process and that the company has made clear that it has always been willing to negotiate a settlement with the U.S. government, but the U.S. government has never followed due process or acted in accordance with the law. The source of the “reports” cited in the executive order is unknown or unconfirmed, and there is no substantive basis for concerns that the app could be used in fraudulent advertising campaigns.
In addition, Bytedance stresses that the data collection questioned of TikTok has been the routine for thousands of mobile applications around the world all the time. No companies commit to the responsibility of openly reviewing policy and algorithm source code through the creation of a Transparency Center but Bytedance. Bytedance has even offered to sell its US operations to an American company.
