The latest development in TikTok’s ban in the United States is that the Chinese government strongly opposes the forceful sale of the video recording app to a U.S company. Chinese officials familiar with the matter reported that acquisition of TikTok operations by a US company will reflect badly on the country which is not acceptable for China.
After India banned the popular TikTok app in the country over political differences with China, the app caught the attention of the American President, Donald Trump who deemed it a national security threat. On the pretext of saving American users data from being misused by the Chinese government, President Trump passed two executive orders to ban the TikTok app and all transactions via WeChat and ByteDance in the United States by November 12, 2020.
China Willing to Close TikTok in the United States
Reuters reports that officials, who asked to stay anonymous, said that the Chinese government thinks of the forceful acquisition of TikTok by a U.S company as a sign of weakness which the government is not willing to allow. Beijing will obstruct the sale by revisioning its export policy.
“Two of the sources said China was willing to use revisions it made to a technology exports list on Aug. 28 to delay any deal reached by ByteDance, if it had to.
Beijing has said it firmly opposes Trump’s executive orders and on Aug. 28 moved to give itself a say in the process, revising a list of technologies that will need Chinese government approval before they are exported. Experts said TikTok’s recommendation algorithm would fall under this list.
Chinese regulators said last week the rules were not targeted at specific companies but they reaffirmed their right to enforce them.”
On the other hand, ByteDance told the publisher that the Chinese government has not communicated any such plan to the developer and has “never suggested to it that it should shut down TikTok in the United States or in any other markets.”
Previously, the Chinese government announced that it will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for unconstitutional use of power. Although the American ban on Chinese social companies in the country is politically motivated to put China in line, the decision will have a deeper effect on U.S companies. Therefore, the tech giants like Apple called on the White House to discuss the implication of the ban on their global business.
Currently, Microsoft, Oracle, and Twitter are in competition to strike a deal with ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US operations. However, a deal might not materialize because ByteDance is in discussion with the White House to avert the sale says 9to5Mac.
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