Snap, Meta rise after U.S. reportedly threatens TikTok ban
Kevin Frayer


Social media companies Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) saw their shares rise premarket on Thursday after the Biden administration reportedly threatened a ban if TikTok's (BDNCE) Chinese owners do not divest their stakes in the video-sharing app. 
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has been facing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers, who argue that the app poses a potential national security threat by virtue of its Chinese ownership.
Last week, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner introduced a bipartisan legislation aimed at policing the threat of technology from "adversarial" nations, a move pointed at a potential ban of TikTok.
The bill, if passed, will allow the Secretary of Commerce to take actions "up to and including a ban" on tech names based in six nations: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that TikTok faces a possible ban in the U.S. if ByteDance (BDNCE) does not divest its stake in the social media app.
TikTok responded by saying that "a forced sale wouldn't address the perceived security risk" and that it has already pledged to spend $1.5B to protect U.S. user data and content from Chinese government access. The treasury department declined to comment.
CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear before a congressional panel next week to address lawmakers' questions.

Key U.S. rivals to TikTok started the day higher, with Snap (SNAP) up +5%
and Meta (META) +2%.