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TikTok
China

Explainer | How ByteDance’s US TikTok operations ended up in limbo

  • The popular video-sharing app, for the time being, is no longer being held against a specific date to be sold to an American owner
  • The company aims for a deal with Walmart and Oracle that will alleviate the government’s national security concerns

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TikTok is no longer being held against a specific date to be sold to an American owner. Photo: Shutterstock
Jodi Xu Kleinin New York
Chinese tech company ByteDance did not get another deadline extension to sell TikTok’s US operations on Friday, Reuters first reported.
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It is unclear whether a new sale deadline will be imposed on ByteDance, but the popular video-sharing app, for the time being, would no longer be held against a specific date to be sold to an American owner or be forced to shut down its business in the US.

Talks with ByteDance and the US government continue, said Reuters. The company aims for a deal with Walmart and Oracle that will alleviate the government’s national security concerns. 

When an agreement is reached between ByteDance and the American buyers, it would be up to Washington to approve the deal, deciding whether the sale would satisfy its requirements regarding the handling of US user data.

06:02

Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West

Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West
As a new administration is to be sworn in just six weeks from now, it may well be up to President-elect Joe Biden’s team to decide on TikTok’s fate.
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The Chinese government will then have to give the deal the green light if the sale involves the TikTok algorithm, technology that Beijing deems critical.
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