How a little-known agency holds power over TikTok’s future

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and SALLY HO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from the U.S. government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American company — unless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that its data security restructuring plan sufficiently guards against national security concerns. At the heart of this social media business and national security drama is the increasingly tense relations between the U.S. and China. Enter: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The little-known but potentially potent government agency known as CFIUS that is tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns and holds power to force the company to change.