The Biden administration is taking a hard stance on the popular app, TikTok. The White House has recently demanded that its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sell TikTok or face a potential ban in the United States. This represents a shift in the Biden administration's approach to TikTok, which was previously in negotiations with the White House to oversee data protection and safety standards.

TikTok spokeswoman Maureen Shanahan has discouraged the directive, arguing that a change in ownership would not have any added protective measures. The company is now facing the same pressures as before by former president Donald J. Trump who had threatened to ban the app if it was not sold to an American company.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department and the FBI are both engaging in their own investigations into ByteDance's use of TikTok to surveil journalists. The Department of Justice has issued a subpoena with the Office of the U