Tiktok faces a ban in the US before the end of the week, however, the platform seems to have no plans for a sale yet.
The popular social media platform TikTok has responded to a report which suggested that China is considering allowing the company’s US business to be sold to Elon Musk, calling it “pure fiction”.
The social media platform’s comments came in response to a Bloomberg article from today (14 January) which reported that China is discussing the sale of TikTok’s US business to billionaire entrepreneur Musk, whose close ties to incoming US president Donald Trump have been widely criticised. According to one “possible scenario” as reported by the news outlet, Musk’s social media platform X would buy up TikTok.
However, the Byte Dance-owned company refuted the rumours. “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a company spokesperson told BBC News today. The platform has also repeatedly stated that it will not be selling its US operations.
Time is running out for TikTok, which is scheduled to be banned in the US for national security reasons on 19 January unless Byte Dance sells its stake in the US leg of its business to an approved buyer.
Byte Dance and TikTok have made several attempts to overturn the ban brought on by outgoing US president Joe Biden who introduced the TikTok divestment legislation last year, which gave the platform nine months to sell its stake in the US or be banned in the country.
Last month, the platform appealed to the country’s supreme court, requesting it to block the divestment law. However, the court, which heard arguments on 10 January, seemed inclined to uphold the ban, pressing ByteDance about the risks of the Chinese government spying on Americans, while also probing the business about concerns around free speech.
“Are we supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” chief justice John Roberts – a part of the nine-justice panel heading the hearing – asked a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance. The lawyer stated that it would be “impossible” for the company to complete a sale by next week. The court is expected to make a preliminary decision in the next few days.
However, yesterday (13 January), two lawmakers in the country urged the US Congress and Biden to extend the ban deadline. Biden, who is leaving office in a few days, could extend the deadline by 90 days if his government can confirm that ByteDance is making progress towards the divestment.
Senator Edward Markey, who called TikTok a “one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem”, said that he planned to introduce legislation called the ‘Extend the TikTok Deadline Act’ to delay ByteDance’s sale deadline by 270 days, adding that the social media platform’s ban would “silence” millions.
He said: “Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems. Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behaviour. But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
While Trump, who met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew last month, asked the Supreme Court in December to delay the implementation of the ban, arguing that he needs time after taking office on 20 January to pursue a “political resolution” to the matter.
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