US 'investigating TikTok as potential national security risk'

Social media app is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance but says it does not operate in China

TikTok is reportedly being investigated as a potential national security risk by the US government, as the company's 2018 acquisition of American social media app Musical.ly comes under retroactive scrutiny.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has the ability to scrutinise acquisitions and investments by foreign companies, never formally approved the buyout, since TikTok, which is owned by Chinese startup ByteDance, did not explicitly request clearance.