The latest order originates from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which was the one who pushed for a similar restriction under Trump.
It appears that the US government has handed TikTok an ultimatum According to the social media platform It says: According to the Biden administration has announced that it may shut down the entire platform in the event that TikTok’s Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes.
TikTok is controlled by ByteDance which is a company with 20 percent of its shares owned by its employees, and 20% of the founders. Both of these groups are in China and the US isn’t happy about that.
This latest news is perhaps the most extreme reaction to date however, it’s far from being an exclusive one. This month two US senators introduced a new bill designed to give the federal government the authority to “ban or prohibit” foreign-owned technology platforms including TikTok being at the top of the list.
This latest order is directly from Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) the same group of government which pushed for the exact restriction under President Trump’s administration.
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Will TikTok Be Banned?
China’s foreign ministry already replied to the news, Reuters reports, and says that the US hasn’t yet provided any evidence to suggest that TikTok could be a threat to national security.
TikTok also has a point to make: According to TikTok, if that national security is a concern, requiring Bytedance to sell its shares won’t fix the issue. In TikTok’s announcement:
“If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access”
This isn’t just Saber-rattling if previous government actions are any indication This: It appears that the White House recently decreed that the government can’t use TikTok in federal computers. State-wide, TikTok has been banned also. Over 30 states will not allow employees to access TikTok using devices that are owned by the state.
TikTok’s Muddy History With the US
The system of two parties in the US is often divided on important issues but the fear of China’s power on the international stage isn’t one of them. The prior Trump administration also had an unfavorable perception of TikTok and had the exact reasons as Biden’s administration. Biden administration.
Through 2020 The CFIUS has set a number of deadlines for TikTok to exit ByteDance. Trump issued an August 2020 executive order that banned TikTok however, it was denied by the court. The issue was not yet solved when Biden removed the order in June 2021.
Then, Biden is back to considering the possibility of a ban. There are a lot of back-and-forths and clear throats and there’s no doubt it that everyone in the US is wary about the application, regardless of who’s running the country.
