A growing number of countries are placing partial or total bans on TikTok amid data security concerns, citing fears that the Chinese parent company ByteDance could be forced into giving user data to the Chinese government, or be pressured into amplifying or suppressing certain topics based on China's interests.
The US this week threatened the app with a potential nationwide ban if its Chinese owners don't sell their ownership stake, but TikTok has said forcing a change in ownership would not address national security concerns.
"If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn't solve the problem: A change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access," a spokesperson told Insider this week. "The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification, which we are already implementing."
Here's a running list of countries with a partial or total ban on TikTok: