China-based TikTok shopping for headquarters in other countries
One location being considered for the new hub is Singapore
China-based TikTok could soon be out of China.
The short-form video network’s parent, ByteDance, which is valued at nearly $80 billion, could move the platform’s headquarters in an effort to distance it from its negative image because of its ties to China, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Singapore, which is independent of both China and Japan, is one location being considered for the hub. Other locations could include London and Dublin, according to the Journal.
TikTok does not have a main headquarters, but top executives work mostly from Singapore.
A company spokesperson told FOX Business that the move could help TikTok enter bigger markets in Southeast Asia, Europe or the United States: “We have been very clear that the best way to compete in markets around the globe is to empower local teams. TikTok has steadily built out its management in the countries where it operates.”
Several reports, including an extensive investigation from The Guardian, show TikTok officials censored content that did not agree with the Chinese government like posts that mention Tibetan independence or Falun Gong, a religious group banned in the country.
And the platform has publicity issues in the United States. The company's Chinese connections was a point of contention at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in early November, after the U.S. government launched a national security review of ByteDance in late October.
TIKTOK A NO-SHOW AT SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON DATA PRIVACY
The review was set to determine if the companies violated data and privacy laws, like storing U.S. user data in China and removing content at the request of the Chinese government.
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The social network has exploded into popularity since its 2017. That's when Musical.ly, a similar app that let users lip-sync popular songs, was purchased and rebranded as TikTok. Global downloads have outpaced that of Instagram and Snapchat, according to mobile-data firm App Annie. It had a whopping 665 million monthly active users in October.
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This story has been updated to include a comment from ByteDance.