TikTok, a global music and video platform created in 2016 by Chinese internet technology company ByteDance, is known in China as Douyin. Photo: VCG

ByteDance said it is facing “complex and unimaginable difficulties” in the process of becoming an international company, including international political tension, cultural clashes and “copying and slandering” from its competitor Facebook, according to a company statement issued in the early hours of Monday.

The company remains committed to internationalization and is increasing investment in the global markets, and it will use its legal rights to defend its legitimate interests, the company said.

Faced with a pending US ban from the Trump administration, ByteDance has agreed to surrender its US operations of TikTok, and US company Microsoft is reportedly in talks to take over, although President Trump said he opposed the spin off deal on Friday. 

On Sunday, Microsoft confirmed for the first time that it has held talks to acquire TikTok US, and that it intends to conclude the talks by September 15, CNBC reported. Microsoft might also bring in other US investors to engage in the acquisition and said that its CEO has talked to Trump, according to CNBC.

TikTok has been accusing competitor Facebook of copying its products. Facebook recently launched Reels on Instagram, a new Instagram Stories format that TikTok says is a clone of its own product. 

TikTok is facing increasing opposition as it gains international popularity. In addition to the uncertainties in its future in the US, the app was also banned by the Indian government at the end of June, and is facing intensifying scrutiny in Australia, with intelligence agencies putting the app under the microscope and some MPs pressing the Federal Government to ban it, ABC news reported. 

Global Times