Exclusive: TikTok says it will be released from the Hong Kong market in a few days

NEW YORK (Reuters) – TikTok will exit the Hong Kong market in a few days, a spokesman told Reuters on Monday night as other technology companies, including Facebook Inc (FB.O) have suspended the processing of government requests for user data in the region.

The China-based ByteDance-owned short-form video app made the decision to leave the region after the establishment of a new national security law for the semi-autonomous city.

“In light of recent events, we have decided to halt operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong,” said a TikTok spokesperson in response to a Reuters question about its commitment to the market.

The company, now run by former Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Executive Kevin Mayer said in the past that the app’s user data is not stored in China.

TikTok has also previously said that it would not comply with, nor has it been asked to do so, by the Chinese government to censor content or access to TikTok user data.

The Hong Kong region is a small market that generates losses for the company, said a source familiar with the matter. Last August, TikTok reported that it had attracted 150,000 users in Hong Kong.

Globally, TikTok has been downloaded more than 2 billion times through Apple (AAPL.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) app stores after the first quarter of this year, according to analyst firm Sensor Tower.

The source said the move was made because it was unclear whether Hong Kong would now be entirely under Beijing’s jurisdiction.

TikTok was designed so that mainland China could not access it. That was part of a strategy to attract a more global audience.

ByteDance operates a similar short video sharing app called Douyin in China.

Although there are no current plans to introduce Douyin to the Hong Kong market, a ByteDance spokesperson said, the app already has a sizable audience in the Asian financial center, as Chinese on the mainland travel and stay in Hong Kong.