New York Post | Ariel Zilber | Jan 16, 2023

TikTok has proposed a $1.5 billion reorganization that would allow third parties to monitor and safeguard the app’s algorithm.

TikTok, the app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, is trying to convince the US government that it is not spying on Americans.

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The proposed reorganization is part of the ByteDance-owned app’s attempt to convince US lawmakers that it is not allowing Beijing to spy on American users of the popular video-sharing platform.

TikTok has also offered to create a subsidiary, TikTok US Data Security (USDS), which would report to an outside board of directors with a “primary fiduciary responsibility” to the US government, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The USDS would hire 2,500 people to monitor the app’s safety mechanisms. None of those hired would be Chinese nationals since the subsidiary would be beholden to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), according to the Journal.

CFIUS is a federal agency that operates under the auspices of the Treasury Department. It is tasked with reviewing transactions involving foreign investment in the US.

If no agreement is reached, the Biden administration could force ByteDance to sell off the US division of TikTok or it could ban the app from the US altogether.

Several governors have moved to ban state employees from using TikTok on their government-issued devices.