It has been a wild couple of days for TikTok, one of the world’s largest social media platforms. On Saturday, it was banned in the US due to a new national security law, but after just 14 hours, it restored its services in the country following returning president Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the app available in the US.
Now, the newly-minted president has signed an executive order seeking to delay the ban by 75 days, ordering the attorney general to not enforce the law “to permit my administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok.” Moreover, the order directs the Justice Department to issue letters to companies such as Apple, Google, and Oracle that work with TikTok “stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period.”
A day before he was sworn in as president, he had stated during a rally, “frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it.” He added that the US will seek a joint venture with parent company Bytedance, instead of making it divest the app completely.
Following this comment, the Chinese foreign ministry stated that companies can make their own decisions on operations and acquisitions. Notably, this is a reversal of its previous stance where it said it would block any forced sale of TikTok, hinting that China may be open to a deal to keep the app in the US.
(Sources: Straits Times, WSJ)
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