TikTok employees and investors are seemingly very worried about the company's China ties

Social media company TikTok has made waves in the United States, but some employees and investors are worried that its ties to China will hinder its growth stateside going forward, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Investors in TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, which was founded and is based in China, believe that success in the U.S. is crucial if the company wants to achieve their goal of an initial public offering next year (a spokesman for ByteDance said an IPO isn't the company's focus), people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

But despite the app's growing popularity, U.S. lawmakers have scrutinized China's influence on TikTok, accusing ByteDance of censoring content to appease Beijing and storing American user data in China. So there's some real fear among investors that the U.S. could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or cease U.S. operations, potentially bringing other countries like Japan or India along for the ride, sources familiar with the matter said.

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Some employees and advisers reportedly brought some ideas before senior executives that would serve to create some distance from China for TikTok. These included suggesting expanding operations to Singapore or rebranding in the U.S. But, per the Journal, it all looks like a long shot right now. And the company has reportedly already reduced the amount of content from China on the app. "We're a Chinese company," said a former employee in TikTok's Los Angeles office. "We answer to China." Read more at The Wall Street Journal.