TikTok may be one of the most maligned social media apps on the planet right now. For its parent company, ByteDance, it’s likely also proving a lot of trouble, at least in the U.S. To that end, it’s made some decisions that might hurt TikTok even more in the U.S. That includes one major hiring freeze.
TikTok faces some significant opposition in the United States. Nevertheless, some measures are available to help work around that opposition. One of those measures was hiring consultants to help it navigate and put in place a security agreement with the U.S. government. However, the company stopped that exact procedure only recently, putting the idea of a security agreement on hold.
TikTok briefly faced a ban in the United States. A previous executive order from then-President Donald Trump started that. Current President Joe Biden, meanwhile, revoked that order, but talks are ongoing that may see TikTok shut down once more.
There are further troubles afoot for TikTok. One is its potential as a spying tool; one journalist, Emily Baker-White, recently revealed how the platform managed to track her location. Yet, TikTok still has some supporters. Some note that a full ban on TikTok would impact higher education. Such users will find it hard to even discuss the social media platform in scholarly pursuits.
TikTok is not publicly traded. Nor is its parent company ByteDance. However, it is possible to indirectly invest in TikTok, mainly by owning shares of SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBF) which owns part of ByteDance. SoftBank was down in today’s trading, and the last five days show a certain volatility, but in a very tight range of between $42 and $44 per share.
