TikTok

U.S. Government Opens Official National Security Investigation Into TikTok

The inquiry from the Department of Commerce is looking into TikTok’s acquistion of Musical.ly in 2017.

Following outcry from lawmakers, the U.S. government has opened an official national security review into TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, over its acquisition of the music social media app Musical.ly, according to a Reuters report.

As TikTok, a video sharing app, has attracted over 110 million downloads in the U.S., legislators like Sen. Chuck Schumer have called on the intelligence community to investigate how ByteDance stories Americans’ personal data and how the company may be censoring politically sensitive content.

Now, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a part of the Commerce Department, has opened an inquiry into how ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, an American company used by mostly young people to share short music videos. Musical.ly was fully rebranded as TikTok in 2018.

The $1 billion acquisition was completed two years ago, but because ByteDance did not seek clearance from the committee when it acquired Musical.ly, CFIUS has authority to investigate the deal. CFIUS is tasked with “determining the effect of [foreign] transactions on the national security of the United States, according to a department website.

TikTok is in talks with CFIUS about what steps it could take to avoid divesting its Musical.ly assets, according to Reuters reporting. The news outlet said further details of those talks and specific concerns raised by the committee could not be learned as of Friday.

Senators have been speaking out about the potential national security implications of TikTok’s growing user base of young people. About 60 percent of TikTok’s American users are between the ages of 16 and 24, according to the company.

Over the past month, three senators have requested official investigations, including Republicans Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton along with Schumer, the Senate minority leader. Cotton and Schumer sent a letter on Oct. 24 to Joseph Maguire, the acting Director of National Intelligence that raised questions about potential censorship and data security concerns.

“With over 110 million downloads in the U.S. alone, TikTok is a potential counterintelligence threat we cannot ignore,” Schumer and Cotton wrote. “Importantly, security experts have voiced concern that China’s intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party."

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

    Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

  • Motorola Solutions Named Official Safety Technology Supplier of the Ryder Cup through 2027

    Motorola Solutions has today been named the Official Safety Technology Supplier of the 2025 and 2027 Ryder Cup, professional golf’s renowned biennial team competition between the United States and Europe. Read Now

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.