[ad_1]
For months, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd., has been grappling with the possibility of a U.S. ban, but judges have blocked those bans from taking effect. The Commerce Department said Thursday that it will abide by the court’s decisions for now, even if the government appeals.
(Read also: these are the applications with the most cyber attacks)
The TikTok ban “has been incorporated and goes into effect, pending further legal developments,” the Commerce Department said in a document published in the federal registry. On the other hand, ByteDance disputed an order from the Treasury Department to sell TikTok or face unspecified penalties.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington on Thursday gave ByteDance and the Trump administration deadlines of December 14 and 28 to file case documents. This Tuesday, when TikTok presented its documents, it said so the government had not responded to its latest attempts to compromise and avoid a forced sale.
It is unclear whether anything has since been developed to extend the deadline, but the court order did not allude to new agreements. ByteDance had sought US approval for a sales agreement involving the Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. app before the November 12 deadline.
(Plus: Influencers: The Millionaire Business They Seek to Control)
But the deal appears to be in limbo. Before presenting the petition in Washington this week, ByteDance requested a 30-day extension to the US Foreign Investment Committee., or CFIUS, which is overseen by the Treasury Department, to continue working towards a solution. That request remained unanswered, according to court documents.
TikTok lawyers and Treasury Department officials did not respond to requests for comment. Trump fought for
TikTok takes a central role in its wider efforts to end the influence of the Chinese tech industry in the United States.
Trump first ordered a sale of TikTok in August, threatening to ban the app if ByteDance didn’t strike a deal with a US company. But he hasn’t said anything about TikTok since the election, having focused on trying to discredit the results showing he lost.
(You may also be interested in: Zoom’s serious allegations of security concerns)
But Thursday Trump issued executive order banning US investment in Chinese companies determined to be owned or controlled by the country’s military. In September, a Washington judge blocked part of the ban that would have prevented new downloads of the app. And on October 30, a Pennsylvania judge issued a temporary ruling order that would have prevented third-party companies from providing the online infrastructure that allows TikTok to run smoothly.
The Justice Department declined to comment. TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the world – with over 100 million users in the United States – and the largest ByteDance service outside of China. The company and its investors are desperate to strike a deal to avoid a ban in what has been a valuable market for other social media apps.such as Instagram from Facebook Inc. and Snapchat from Snap Inc.
Other topics that may interest you
– The PlayStation 5 is now available on the market
– YouTube has been in a worldwide decline for nearly two hours
– Older Android devices would be obsolete by 2021
BLOOMBERG
.
[ad_2]
Source link
