China Officials Discuss TikTok Sale to Musk

The core of TikTok's video-sharing app is the algorithm containing software code originally written by its parent, ByteDance, for figuring out what users want to watch and delivering relevant content to them.

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Chinese officials have in recent months asked ByteDance about its plans for responding to the U.S. law. ByteDance employees have answered that the company was focusing on the legal battle and was confident it would win, without mentioning other backup plans such as a divestiture, people familiar with the matter said.

Beijing's potential involvement in a deal to help TikTok avert a U.S. ban could undermine the company's assertion that it operates independently of Chinese authorities.