TikTok was scheduled to be banned in the US on November 12, yet Trump’s administration seems to have let this one slide.
Remember when Trump took on TikTok? The proposed deadline for the app to be bought by an American company – or be banned in the country – has snuck right up, leaving TikTok and parent organisation Bytedance wondering ‘what’s the go?’.
The plans to ban the app stemmed from national security concerns around the Chinese-owned TikTok, with the original ban set to occur back on September 30.
Yet just hours before the September 30 deadline, a federal judge granted an injunction postponing the prevention of new downloads to November 12. Now this deadline imposed by The Committee on Foreign Investment in The United States (CFIUS) has arrived, but it seems no one really knows what’s happening.
Since Trump imposed the original ban, bidding wars have occurred, with Microsoft being a major contender, yet none have gone through. Oracle and Walmart struck a complicated deal with ByteDance, which Trump approved, but this was never sanctioned by the Chinese government.
This left TikTok, an estimated 100 million US users, and more than 1,500 US employees all in limbo, despite the organisation trying to clarify their stance in the market.
“For a year, TikTok has actively engaged with CFIUS in good faith to address its national security concerns, even as we disagree with its assessment,” TikTok says in a statement to The Verge.
“In the nearly two months since the President gave his preliminary approval to our proposal to satisfy those concerns, we have offered detailed solutions to finalize that agreement – but have received no substantive feedback on our extensive data privacy and security framework.”
Trump had the full 2020 experience.
1. Got Covid.
2. Talked about TikTok a lot.
3. Lost his job.— TattedLawyer.eth (@MichaelSatoshi) November 7, 2020
TikTok says they’ve applied for more information, but they haven’t received any communication on the matter and what’s to happen next.
“Facing continual new requests and no clarity on whether our proposed solutions would be accepted, we requested the 30-day extension that is expressly permitted in the August 14 order,” they described.
The statement continues: “Today, with the November 12 CFIUS deadline imminent and without an extension in hand, we have no choice but to file a petition in court to defend our rights and those of our more than 1,500 employees in the US. We remain committed to working with the Administration — as we have all along — to resolve the issues it has raised, but our legal challenge today is a protection to ensure these discussions can take place.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@420doggface208/video/6876424179084709126?lang=en&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6798011135926945286&is_from_webapp=1
According to The Guardian, the Trump administration has now announced it will further delay enforcement of the ban, “pending further legal developments”.
So for now, the app remains free for all the dancing, cran-raspberry drinking (and potential spying) your heart desires.
