Trump Orders TikTok’s Parent to Sell Its U.S. Assets

Sara Forden, Bloomberg News

The logo for ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok app is arranged for a photograph on a smartphone in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving Americans' personal data exposed. Photographer: Ivan Abreu/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the Chinese owner of the popular music video app TikTok to sell its U.S. assets, citing national security concerns.

Trump’s decision came after an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews acquisitions of American businesses by overseas investors. ByteDance Ltd. bought the app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with TikTok.

Trump said in the order released Friday night that ByteDance “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, “CFIUS conducted an exhaustive review of the case and unanimously recommended this action to the president in order to protect U.S. users from exploitation of their personal data.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night. TikTok also didn’t immediately comment on the new order.