Buzz
Social media giant TikTok has recently filed a petition in the U.S. court, seeking a review of the actions taken by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) under President Donald Trump's government. TikTok's reasoning is straightforward - for weeks, its parent company ByteDance received no communication or updates from CFIUS regarding the deadline to sell TikTok's U.S. branch to a potential American partner. This move was prompted by concerns from Trump's administration about the security and privacy of TikTok users in the country.Earlier, CFIUS had set a deadline of November 12 for ByteDance to sell or divest ownership of 'any tangible or intangible assets used to operate or support ByteDance's operation of TikTok in the U.S.' TikTok has requested an additional 30 days beyond the November 12 deadline to find a solution, as allowed by CFIUS. However, since then, there has been no information received regarding this matter. TikTok itself is uncertain about what will unfold after the November 12 deadline has passed.In an official statement to The Verge, TikTok stated: “Over the past year, TikTok has actively collaborated with CFIUS in good faith to address the U.S. government's national security concerns, even when we disagreed with their assessment. In the nearly two months since the President approved our proposal to address security concerns, we have provided detailed solutions to finalize that agreement but have not received significant feedback on the security and privacy of our data.”TikTok added: “Faced with continuous and unclear new requirements, unsure if our proposed solutions will be accepted, we requested a clear 30-day extension in the order dated August 14. Today, with CFIUS' final deadline on 12/11 approaching and no extension granted, we have no choice but to file in court to protect our rights and those of over 1500 employees in the U.S.”We remain committed to working and discussing with the regulatory body, as we have done, to address the issues raised, but our current legal challenge is a protective measure to ensure these discussions can take place.”Back in September, President Trump gave the green light to the Oracle and Walmart alliance to acquire TikTok in the U.S. ByteDance also agreed to the deal. However, due to objections from the Chinese government, everything has been at a standstill since then.
