The arguments come as TikTok fights to continue operating in the United States. Mr. Trump has been hawkish on Chinese technology for the past few years and has said that Chinese-backed apps like TikTok and the messaging service WeChat, owned by Tencent, pose national security threats because they could offer data about Americans to Beijing.
In early August, Mr. Trump issued executive orders to effectively ban TikTok and WeChat in the United States. Citing those orders, the Commerce Department said this month that it would bar WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores, including those run by Apple and Google. TikTok is used by more than 120 million Americans, according to the company.
The measures set to take effect on Sunday would force companies like Google and Apple to remove TikTok from their app stores, making it difficult for new users to download the app. More restrictions are set to take effect on Nov. 12 that would make it more difficult for the app to operate for its existing users.
To avoid a ban, TikTok has been in talks for months to strike a deal with an American technology company to defuse national security concerns. Earlier this month, TikTok hammered out an agreement with Oracle and Walmart to create a new entity, TikTok Global, in which the American companies would jointly own a 20 percent stake. ByteDance would initially own the other 80 percent. The companies did not detail how they would deal with national security questions.
President Trump gave his preliminary blessing to the deal. But the companies have publicly disagreed over how much of TikTok Global will be owned by American entities. That led Mr. Trump to say he might not approve the deal if Oracle did not have control over TikTok.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/technology/tiktok-ban-ruling-app.html
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.