Beijing opposes a forced sale of TikTok’s US operations by its Chinese owner ByteDance, and would prefer to see the short-video app shut down in the US, people with knowledge of the matter said.
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ByteDance is increasingly likely to miss a Trump administration deadline for the sale of its TikTok US operations after new Chinese regulations complicated negotiations with bidders Microsoft and Oracle.
US President Donald Trump insists that any sale of TikTok include a cut for the federal government, yet that demand has baffled policy experts and lawyers.
A group representing major Internet companies has urged a US regulator to reject a Trump administration bid to narrow the ability of social media companies to remove objectionable content.
Facebook on Tuesday told users it can take down or block any content that could increase regulatory or legal risks for the social media giant around the world – even if the content itself isn’t illegal.
Imagine a bidder wanting to buy KFC, but being told the deal might not include the Colonel’s seven secret herbs and spices. That’s effectively what Beijing has told the list of US companies keen to purchase TikTok.
China’s new rules around tech exports mean ByteDance’s sale of TikTok’s US operations could need Beijing’s approval, a Chinese trade expert told state media.
Despite its superficially frivolous nature, young people have been using TikTok to send political messages, coordinate political actions and hang out in an online space largely free of adults.
Walmart said it was joining Microsoft in a bid for social media company TikTok’s US assets, revealing its plans hours after CEO Kevin Mayer said he would step down.
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has left the company, less than three months after he joined the hit short-video app, and US GM Vanessa Pappas will replace him on an interim basis.