ByteDance is looking outside of the US for its new TikTok headquarters

• The viral video-sharing app TikTok is currently facing a potential ban in the US over national-security risks due to its ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance.
• To prevent the ban from taking place, TikTok has been weighing a number of options, including "divesting" its operations in the US. Microsoft has emerged as a potential buyer.
• In a statement Monday to Reuters, ByteDance said it's "evaluating the possibility of establishing TikTok's headquarters outside of the US" to demonstrate it's "global company."
• The Sun reported ByteDance is set to announce it intends to establish TikTok's headquarters in London. Currently, TikTok's operations in London are based in a WeWork building.

LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - TikTok's headquarters may be established outside the United States, its Chinese parent company ByteDance said on Monday following a report that the video-sharing platform may move its operations to London.

"ByteDance is committed to being a global company. In light of the current situation, ByteDance has been evaluating the possibility of establishing TikTok's headquarters outside of the US, to better serve our global users," a ByteDance spokesperson said.

Britain's Sun newspaper reported on Monday that ByteDance would soon announce its intention to set up shop for TikTok in the British capital, where it would join other tech majors such as Google and Facebook who have a strong presence there.

TikTok's offices in London are currently based out of a WeWork building, and the app's European hub is currently located in Dublin. However, TikTok doesn't have its own headquarters separate from ByteDance, whose main offices are in China.

The possibility of establishing TikTok headquarters comes as uncertainty builds around how much longer ByteDance will run the app's operations in the US. The Trump administration has been threatening to ban the app in the US since early July over its ties to China.

In the wake of a threatened ban, ByteDance has been exploring "divest" its US operations. Microsoft has emerged as a potential buyer.

Recently, TikTok's valuation has been estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion. The app has more than 2.3 billion downloads worldwide, and a userbase in the US as high as 80 million.