STORY: U.S. lawmakers have set the stage for a battle over TikTok.
They've given Chinese owner ByteDance until mid-January to divest the social network, or face a nationwide ban.
But Reuters sources say the company has another idea.
They say it will just shut TikTok down in the U.S. rather than sell it.
That's because the algorithm that powers the app is seen as ByteDance's most valuable asset.
It drives other platforms owned by the firm, and sources say its seen as more advanced than products from rivals like Tencent.
Separating it from TikTok as part of any sale looks to be legally and technically all but impossible.
Instead, ByteDance could just shut the app down in the U.S., and live without its 170 million users there.
Late Thursday, the company would only say that it had no plan to sell TikTok.
Earlier in the week, app boss Shou Zi Chew had vowed to win a legal battle over the possible ban:
"Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere. We are confident, and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side. We expect to prevail again."
The U.S. threat is driven by concerns TikTok could be used to spy on Americans - a suggestion the company strongly rejects.
Washington first sought to ban it back in 2020, during the Trump administration, but was blocked by the courts.
Now White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says a sale is realistic:
"We believe that it is possible there already American investors who are who are willing and are interested in buying TikTok. So the interest is there. It's not like there isn't any."
Whether ByteDance is willing to sell looks like another matter.
With TikTok accounting for just a small slice of its revenues, a U.S. shutdown might be no big deal for the firm.
