TikTok, the widely used social media application, is under threat of a severe deadline in the US. This firm has only nine days to locate a buyer in the United States. Provided that it does not do that, it may be banned or heavily restricted. The push is amidst a continuous controversy concerning national security, user information, and overseas possession.
The National Security Concerns
National security is the primary driving force of the U.S. government. TikTok belongs to a Chinese company called ByteDance. The problem is that the user data of millions of Americans may be in the possession of the Chinese government, which is a fear of many U.S. officials. They are sure that, till TikTok is owned by ByteDance, it is vulnerable to the risk of personal information being accessed, monitored, or misused.
These are the worries that have been voiced over the years. The authorities state that the data of the users, including location data, search history, and personal messages, would be of interest to foreign governments. Due to this fact, certain politicians are asking to either prohibit the app or sell it to a company in the United States.
A Long Battle with the U.S. Government
This is not the first time that TikTok is in this position. The U.S. government under the previous president, Donald Trump, initially attempted to compel TikTok to vend its U.S. branch in 2020. The Trump administration claimed that TikTok posed a threat to national security. Though the problem simmered temporarily, it is back with a vengeance under President Joe Biden.
Twice, President Trump was extending the deadline before his exit. However, another deadline has been issued now, and TikTok has a couple of days to strike a deal. Unless it secures a buyer by that time, the app will possibly be banned in the United States, losing millions of users its access.
Possible Buyers Stepping In
Businessman Frank McCourt is one of the individuals interested in purchasing TikTok operations in the U.S. He has even made public his belief that there is a 50-50 possibility that his group might succeed in wresting control of the U.S. part of the company. Nevertheless, things are not clear-cut.
The process of purchasing a company such as TikTok is not simple. The application is immensely popular in the U.S. and globally, and any acquisition would most probably run into billions of dollars. Moreover, any purchaser would have to be accepted by both the U.S. government and ByteDance.
ByteDance’s Struggles to Keep TikTok
Trying to retain ownership of TikTok has been a challenge that ByteDance has been undertaking. According to the company, it has implemented a number of features to keep the data of American users safe. Among such measures, there is storing the information of U.S. users on the servers in the United States that are operated by Oracle, a large U.S. technology corporation.
Nevertheless, numerous legislators and officials in the U.S. are not convinced by these attempts. They say that the risk will never completely disappear, so long as ByteDance is the parent company. Hence, the heat on TikTok to sell its U.S. business is persistent.
Growing Pressure from Lawmakers
Both Republican and Democratic politicians have been very supportive of the push to have a sale. They claim that a foreign ownership of a platform that is widely used might enable foreign governments to propagate propaganda, influence masses, or even spy on American citizens.
Lawmakers have even termed TikTok as a Trojan horse of China. In their opinion, this move will allow the U.S. to protect the data of its citizens and avoid foreign influence because they can force a sale.
