Earlier this year, TikTok was almost banned in the US. However, thanks to US President Donald Trump, he stepped in and gave the TikTok ban an extension of 75-days. Trump is hoping that within this timeframe, the US government will find a way around the issue, such as convincing TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell off the company or at least part of it to a US company.
Trump’s “unlawful” order
It sounds like a decent plan on the surface, but it might not actually be fully legal. In a letter sent to Trump, Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) claim that Trump’s executive orders are “unacceptable”. What’s interesting is that these three Democratic senators initially opposed the TikTok ban when lawmakers first proposed it.
You would think that they would be fine with Trump’s actions to keep TikTok alive, but the letter suggests otherwise. The senators are claiming that Trump’s executive order to give the TikTok ban an extension is “unlawful”. They also point out how ineffective it will be over time. This is due to the risk the companies involved face if they do not comply with the law. According to the original order, service providers that work with TikTok after the divestment deadline face up to $850 billion in liabilities.
This affects companies such as Oracle, whose servers play host to TikTok. It also affects Apple and Google, as the TikTok app is available for download again after they initially removed it. According to the senators, they say that Trump’s executive order puts these companies at risk, even after Trump reassured them that the Justice Department won’t enforce the law against them. The senators are urging Trump to work with Congress, where it previously introduced a legislation to extend the TikTok deadline.
TikTok’s future is still uncertain
At the moment, there is no official confirmation of who will buy TikTok. According to Trump, he has four bidders lined up. Rumors place Oracle in the lead, but the latest report suggests Perplexity might also be interested.
That being said, selling TikTok won’t be as easy or straightforward as it seems. Its parent company is based in China, and the Chinese government doesn’t want to let TikTok go—especially not to the US. The key issue lies in TikTok’s prized algorithm, which China classifies as “core” technology. As a result, China restricts its sale or export to other countries.
