With a twisty ride of action, TikTok, the popular social app, got engaged in a struggle of wills. Its future in America was quite literally at stake. And just as a week went by without a dramatic reappearance at Apple and Google App Stores in the US by TikTok, following the most otherworldly vanishing act without lyrics that left onlookers-from users to analysts-rubbing their heads.
Withdrawing from the central app stores where TikTok was available was an act that came about as a direct result of this bill on national security targeting the Chinese parent company of the app, ByteDance. The act went into effect on January 19, 2021, and vowed to force ByteDance to close its American doors or transfer the operation of TikTok to an American-based corporate entity, but then, in a dramatic twist, the US President Donald Trump appended an executive order lifting the ban for 75 days.
Well, as 75 days were approaching down the road, Apple and Google were trapped. Neither company was foolish enough to risk litigation with the app, which has already pulled in more than 52 million downloads alone in the U.S. last year. The tech companies were believed to have demanded assurances from ByteDance and the U.S. government before reinstating TikTok back to their app stores.
The return of TikTok to the App Store and Google Play came with relief but ambiguously. Individuals download the app and use this but in the long run, no one knows how exactly TikTok will manage to stay in America. President Trump indicated that the organization might be up for sale and that America’s biggest business corporations such as Oracle and Elon Musk indicated that they would buy the platform if offered a chance.
Strings Attached to National Security Issues
Nation security issues create a tangled mess in the scabby scandal of TikTok. That the app is owned by China is ringing alarm bells among American policymakers who are concerned about the possibility that the app may be harnessed by the Chinese state machinery to collect personal information from American citizens or even manipulate the minds of the masses.
Such concerns are not entirely without basis. ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, is a Chinese-owned and operated firm bound by China’s data privacy laws, thus requiring the company to submit user information to the Chinese government, when asked so, thus raising fears that the app might be used for espionage or even as a propaganda tool of the Communist Party of China.
To address these concerns, the Trump administration has made earlier attempts to issue a prohibition on TikTok operating in the U.S. Apparent is that even though a 75-day delay on the prohibition has been granted, the opportunity opened up to ByteDance to look at possible alternatives, including selling it to an American company.
While the discussions proceed, the realization is that the U.S. government is interested in making sure that TikTok operates in America connected to American interests and values. This can include such things as:
– Divestiture of ByteDance in the U.S. interest of TikTok
– Imposition of significantly stringent data sharing and security standards on the platform
– Open and accountable the app’s algorithm and content moderation policy
The outcome of more negotiations is, therefore, of wider consequence not just for the future of TikTok in the U.S. market, but for the U.S.-China relationship more generally in the digital technology era.
Potential Purchase of TikTok: Speculating on the Options
Before that, the drama of TikTok was completed; sales emerged afterward as an alternative to the nagging concern about national security. President Trump himself clearly said he prefers the American variety of TikTok absorbed into an American company, and with this, some industry giants have shown very strong interest.
Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, is one of the more frequently mentioned possible buyers. Musk has indeed expressed his desire to acquire at some point in the past, arguing that the app could be the basis for creating a ”super app” that could potentially compete against WeChat’s stranglehold on the Chinese market. With the entry of Musk comes another angle and another vision for the future of TikTok, based on his experience founding disruptive technology companies.
There is also a good chance that Oracle is a purchaser because that is the technology giant that sells business software and cloud-computing products. Indeed, Oracle has already had several conversations with ByteDance to pursue acquisition or partnership alternatives, and Oracle’s capabilities in handling data and security may also contribute toward trying to alleviate national security concerns with TikTok.
A sale of TikTok’s business in the U.S. even would open the door for other leading technology companies to join in the bidding. Microsoft, which already indicated potential interest in acquiring TikTok, would remain a possibility within such spectrum, and so would be other technology giants like Google, Facebook, or even an investment group.
At the end of the day, success with any such transaction will depend on how well a buyer stratagem sales navigate the Byzantine political and regulatory landscape surrounding TikTok. Then, the new owner will have to show a very strong commitment to data privacy, by transparency about content moderation, and balancing operations with the national interests of the U.S.
The Implications for the Tech Industry and Beyond
The saga of TikTok extends beyond the story of the app. The transaction, and potential sale, slice a very thin line between technology innovation and national security as well as the global digital economy.
It is thereby evinced that the much-talked-about example of TikTok highlights the ever-increasing role that geopolitics plays in thinking and acting upon digital platforms-what their actions entail or might entail. The much more complex network of political and regulatory challenges as well as national security is ever increasing in importance within the agendas.
To further appreciate it, the possible sale of TikTok’s US business would also have more meaning for the relationship of China with the tech sector. Trump’s initiatives concerning TikTok form a part of a broader confrontation against China as well as its companies.
