Trump once again delays TikTok ban in the United States
In a series of developments, TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, is facing a crucial decision regarding its future in the United States.
The latest announcements suggest that the current pause on TikTok's sale is the first to meet the condition for a one-time 90-day extension. This extension, granted by President Donald Trump, allows TikTok to remain available until December 16. It is worth noting that the US law stipulates that TikTok must either be sold or face a ban by this date.
The sale of TikTok's US operations is expected to be led by American investors. These include Oracle, backed by Trump supporter Larry Ellison, who will retain their role as TikTok's technical service provider in the US. Other investors, such as Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, are also set to receive 80 percent of a new US subsidiary of TikTok after an agreement.
The remaining shares of the new US subsidiary would remain with Chinese shareholders, with US investors like Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, KKR, and Andreessen Horowitz among them. Bytedance, TikTok's parent company, would retain only a small minority stake.
However, the US government has proposed a framework for a TikTok deal with China, where the current owner Bytedance is based. Bytedance, which is headquartered in the Cayman Islands and is 60 percent owned by international investors, has a large headquarters in Beijing and is subject to many Chinese regulations. This has raised concerns among US critics who see it as a potential risk for the US government to influence public opinion through the use of the Chinese algorithm developed by Bytedance.
TikTok and Bytedance have denied these concerns, stating that the app would continue to use the algorithm developed in China to determine which videos are shown to users in the US. This fact has been a point of contention, with the US law stipulating that neither the Chinese government nor Bytedance can control the algorithm used by TikTok.
Trump has emphasized that TikTok helped him in the election campaign, especially in mobilizing young voters. Despite this, the US law does not provide a basis for Trump to extend the grace period for TikTok beyond the initial 90 days. It is expected that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss the agreement during a conversation on Friday, according to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The Financial Times reported that the agreement has not been finalized yet, and it could still take 30 to 45 days. As the deadline approaches, the future of TikTok in the US remains uncertain.
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