TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012. ByteDance operates globally, with major platforms like TikTok for international markets and Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, for users in mainland China. While ByteDance claims to be a private company, it has complex ownership, with about 60% held by global investors (including U.S. entities), 20% by employees, and 20% by its Chinese founders.
The relationship between ByteDance and the Chinese government has been a significant point of controversy. While the Chinese government holds a 1% stake in ByteDance’s Chinese subsidiary that operates Douyin, it also has a seat on its board. This stake, while small, raises concerns about potential influence. Additionally, China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requires Chinese companies to cooperate with the government for national intelligence efforts, leading to fears that ByteDance could be compelled to share TikTok user data with Chinese authorities, despite ByteDance’s insistence to the contrary.
U.S. officials, including the FBI, have voiced concerns that ByteDance is “beholden” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Though there is no definitive public evidence that TikTok has shared user data with the Chinese government, the structure and legal framework in China make it difficult to rule out potential influence. This has prompted calls in the U.S. for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face restrictions, as many U.S. lawmakers fear that TikTok could be used as a tool for Chinese government influence or surveillance oai_citation:2,PolitiFact | Who owns TikTok’s parent company? Despite what Brian Kilmeade says, it’s not the Chinese government oai_citation:1,Q&A: TikTok Owner Is Essentially ‘Subsidiary’ of China’s Communist Party, US Lawmaker Says.