The US Department of Commerce announced that it would be banning the popular video app TikTok from all US app stores Sunday, Sep. 20. However, Sunday came and passed and the app is still available for download.
TikTok is a viral video app popular among those aged 14 to 25. Many online users have feared that Trump’s plans to ban the app are due to TikTok giving young American voters a platform to speak about what’s going on. However, the US government contends that they are only banning it due to national security threats, yet the ban has still yet to go into effect.
So, what’s happening?
The US has had plans to ban TikTok due to national security concerns for a while now, as the app is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. The Trump administration has claimed that the ByteDance has been collecting and selling the personal data of over 100,000 US TikTok users to the Beijing government. ByteDance has denied all claims that they have sold any data and say that their data centers are outside of China entirely.
Nevertheless, the US moved forward with plans to ban the app on Sep. 28. However, late Sunday, a last-minute deal between US companies Walmart and Oracle, and the owners of TikTok has potentially saved the app from being banned, NPR reports. Trump gave his approval of the deal, under the contingency that the US companies investing in TikTok Global, maintain total control over the app. Under the new proposed deal, Oracle, a cloud computing company, will host all of TikTok’s data in the US to make sure that the national security requirements are being followed and upheld.
There are still a lot of questions up in the air about the deal, though. A CNN report confirmed that on Monday, Sep. 21, a deal was in the works but most of the control of TikTok global would still lie with ByteDance. This is different than the deal Trump wanted and approved of which was the total sale of the app.
This deal may seem unusual, and that is because it is. Previous presidents have not directly overseen the deals made between two foreign companies. Although, Trump’s history with business and the US government’s increasing national security concerns is most likely what prompted his involvement.
On Wednesday, Sep. 23, Bloomberg reported that China threatened to kill the TikTok deal due to “dirty and unhanded” tactics by the Trump administration. While it seemed earlier in the week both countries were on board with the deal, now China is opposed. The opposition by the Chinese government is surprising due to ByteDance’s attempts to distance themselves from the government altogether. This deal is high stakes and means the access and control to a large data pool of information on users is at risk.
The US government has now officially delayed the banning of TikTok until Sep. 27. The companies involved have to either make a deal that Trump approves of by Sep. 27 or risk getting banned in one of their biggest markets.
As this deal continues to unfold, the fate of TikTok remains an ever-changing mystery.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!