The mystery surrounding the possible end of TikTok in the USA comes to a head shortly before the sales deadline for the video app expires.
According to their own statements, the operators want to close the app in the US market on Sunday unless the government explicitly guarantees their tech service providers immunity from prosecution for further cooperation. According to information from CNN, the White House finds the previous assurances sufficient – but does not rule out further action.
The background to the dispute is warnings that the Chinese government could gain access to Americans’ data via TikTok and influence public opinion in the USA. For the China-based TikTok owner Bytedance, an important deadline expires on Sunday: A US law states that the company must separate from the app within 270 days. Otherwise, Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok from their American app stores. In addition, the group will lose access to the infrastructure.
TikTok’s US service providers are afraid of penalties
According to the law, US companies that continue to work with the app face high penalties. However, the government of US President Joe Biden announced on Friday that enforcement of the law would be left to future President Donald Trump.
And the U.S. Department of Justice said implementation of the law will be “a process that unfolds over time.” TikTok wants the government to directly assure at least its most important tech partners that they will not face any consequences if they continue to power the app.
The push was triggered by concerns among technology partners that they did not have enough legal certainty, CNN reported. There could potentially be a lot of money at stake: According to the law, violations could result in fines of $5,000 for every user still active after the deadline. And TikTok claims to have more than 170 million users in the USA.
Waiting for Trump
President-elect Donald Trump’s camp said it would take measures to keep TikTok online while he tries to broker a deal for the app. However, Trump will not be sworn in until Monday. That leaves a gap where Biden’s government is still in office after the TikTok deadline expires.
Extension of deadline actually only applies to sales discussions
The US President can extend the deadline by 90 days – but by law only if there are promising sales negotiations. Bytedance and TikTok have so far categorically refused to consider a separation.
TikTok always emphasizes that Bytedance is mostly owned by international investors – but due to its headquarters in Beijing, the parent company also has to comply with the requirements of the authorities. The government can also have a say in a sale: the algorithm that selects the videos for users was developed in China. And Beijing banned the distribution of such software without special permission.
TikTok lost its fight against the change of ownership law in the US Supreme Court on Friday. The judges ruled that it did not violate the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech.
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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)
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