ByteDance says a report it plans to sell TikTok is not true.
TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance says it has no plan of selling the business after the US passed a law to force it to sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in America.
"ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok," the company posted on its official account on Toutiao, a social media platform it owns.
Earlier this week, TikTok said it would file law suits in court against the "unconstitutional" law.
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The statement from ByteDance came in response to an article by the technology industry website The Information that said it was exploring the potential sale of TikTok’s operation in the US without the algorithm that powers it.
"Foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true," the company said in the post, which included a screen shot of the article with the Chinese characters meaning "false rumour" stamped on it.
ByteDance denied the report on a social media site it owns.
The president of United States signed the sell or ban process on Wednesday.
China's tightening grip on private companies has raised concerns in the US, and other Western countries, about how much control the Communist Party has over ByteDance, and the data it holds.
TikTok has repeatedly denied claims the Chinese government has control over ByteDance.
"We have no doubt and we will be fighting for your rights in the courts," said TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew in a video posted on the platform this week.
"The facts, and the Constitution, are on our side... Be assured, we are going anywhere."
According to TikTok, ByteDance's Chinese founder owns 20% of shares, through a controlling stake in the company.
About 60% is owned by institutional investors, including major US investment firms Carlyle Group, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group.
The remaining 20% is owned by its employees around the world and three out of ByteDance's five board members are American.
The government of Chinese has also dismissed such issue as paranoia and has warned that a TikTok ban would "inevitably come back to bite the US".
However, TikTok is not facing an immediate ban in the US.
The law just passed afford ByteDance nine months to put up the business for sale, and an additional three month grace period, before a possible ban can be enforced.
That means the sale expiration date would be around 2025, which would have been after the presidential election 2024.