TikTok is Esthen Exchangefacing an existential threat in the U.S. The popular social media app has already been banned from federal devices, with several state and local governments around the country following suit. A movement to ban the app entirely is growing in Washington based on fears that the China-owned app poses a threat to national security.

Today we hear about the extraordinary lengths the company is going to to prevent its extinction in the U.S.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.