Wondering what’s going on with TikTok’s ban? Evidently, so is TikTok, as the company’s future has been left in limbo.
TikTok dominated the news for weeks as the Trump administration tried to force the social media platform to sell to an American company under threat of ban. Trump eventually issued an executive order banning the company, although a court ruling delayed it from going into effect.
In the meantime, Oracle and Walmart together emerged as prospective buyers, although not the way Trump had envisioned. While Trump had said the social media company would be under control of an American company, and free from Chinese control, the initial deal Oracle struck was for a 20% stake in the company, with control firmly in China’s hands.
Further exacerbating the situation was a ruling by the Chinese government blocking the export of certain technology, including the algorithm TikTok uses, putting the deal in further doubt. Chinese state media also claimed the government would not approve the deal, saying that to do so “would endanger China’s national security, interests and dignity.”
Now, with the deadline for working out a deal coming to an end, TikTok wants to know what’s going on.
“For a year, TikTok has actively engaged with CFIUS in good faith to address its national security concerns, even as we disagree with its assessment,” TikTok says in a statement to The Verge. “In the nearly two months since the President gave his preliminary approval to our proposal to satisfy those concerns, we have offered detailed solutions to finalize that agreement – but have received no substantive feedback on our extensive data privacy and security framework.”
In the meantime, the company has filed with a US court of appeals to have the divestment order overturned.