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TikTok points at London and other places as their Headquarter hubs
(Reuters) In recent months, TikTok has been in discussions with the UK Government to locate its headquarters in London as part of a strategy to distance itself from its Chinese ownership, a source familiar with the matter.
London is among many places considered by the company but no decisions have been taken, the source said.
It was not immediately clear what other sites are being considered. But this year, it has hired aggressively in California, including poaching Kevin Mayer, a former executive of Walt Disney Co, to be the chief executive of TikTok. He is located in the U.S.
In Washington, TikTok is facing intense scrutiny over concerns China would compel the company to hand over user data.
The source said the firm has concentrated primarily on its problems in the U.S. over the past few weeks, but has not ruled out London as a possible place for its new headquarters. TikTok is expected to "significantly" increase the size of its London workforce and other key locations outside of China in the coming years, the source said.
Tiktok has broken off talks with the UK government to open a global headquarters in Britain, the Sunday Times reported.
A source said Tiktok was still in talks with the Government of Britain.
TikTok avoided commenting.
