US lawmakers urge commerce department to put TikTok-parent ByteDance on export control list

The Commerce Department did not immediately comment on the letter.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in October had said that TikTok “poses national security risks” and said she supported legislation giving Commerce new tools to address risks from apps.

A TikTok spokesperson on Thursday said the letter from lawmakers misrepresents the facts and the law and “ignores the industry-leading work we’ve done to safeguard protected US user data. We’ve engaged in good faith with Congress and relevant agencies through the CFIUS process for over four years and we continue to do so”.

The US Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in March demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their shares, or face the possibility of the app being banned, Reuters and other outlets reported, but the administration has taken no action.

The lawmakers, in their letter to Raimondo, added: “If American users are not able to upgrade their app with software updates, which involves the export of US software, then the operability of the applications of concern will be weakened.”

TikTok owner ByteDance looks to expand in US, Canada and Australia

Some analysts think Congress and the White House are unlikely to try to ban TikTok this year, given the November elections and TikTok’s popularity with young voters.

The White House last year backed legislation to give the administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats, but it has never come up for a vote.