The Chinese social media giant TikTok may chose London as its main Headquarters.

TikTok has been in discussions with the UK government over the past few months to locate its headquarters in London, a source familiar with the matter said, as part of a strategy to distance itself from its Chinese ownership.

London is among one of several locations the company is considering, but no decisions have been made, the source said.

It was not immediately clear what other locations are under consideration. But it has hired aggressively in California this year, including poaching Kevin Mayer, a former Walt Disney Co executive, to be TikTok’s chief executive. He is based in the United States.

TikTok is facing heavy scrutiny in Washington over suspicions China could force the company to turn over user data. TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance.

The source said the company is largely focused on its issues in the United States over the last few weeks, but has not ruled out London as a potential location for its new headquarters. TikTok is expected to “significantly” increase the size of its workforce in London and other key locations outside of China over the next several years, the source said.A source said Tiktok was still in discussions with Britain’s government.TikTok declined to comment.

TikTok shelves plan for global HQ in Britain. Hope for 3,000 jobs on hold as China trade war looms
The Chinese social media giant TikTok has broken off talks to open a global headquarters in Britain and create 3,000 jobs as a tit-for-tat economic war threatens to erupt between London and Beijing.The Chinese social media giant TikTok has broken off talks to open a global headquarters in Britain and create 3,000 jobs as a tit-for-tat economic war threatens to erupt between London and Beijing.

Its parent company, ByteDance, had been in negotiations with the Department for International Trade and No 10 officials for several months. However, it suspended talks because of the “wider geopolitical context”, a source confirmed.TikTok, a video-sharing app wildly popular among teenagers, has 800 million users worldwide but critics have warned of security risks because of its links to the Chinese State.