Here we bloody go.
US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order which would effectively ban TikTok in America next month, calling the situation a “national emergency”.
Per CNN, Trump’s big new policy declaration claims that TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese firm ByteDance, leaves the personal data of American users vulnerable to access by the Chinese Government.
Trump’s order claims to “address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain,” alleging the app’s “data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information”.
TikTok has vehemently denied those claims. In a statement obtained by The Verge last month, a TikTok spokesperson said “We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”
The order states any US transactions linked to ByteDance will be prohibited in 45 days’ time.
There appears to be a multi-billion dollar loophole here, though.
On Monday, Trump said TikTok’s American operations will be banned by September 15 if ByteDance can’t find an American buyer for its local operations.
Enter Microsoft, which has signalled its interest in securing TikTok’s American (and Australian!) operations in the very near future.
Big times ahead. We’ll keep you posted on how this one shakes out.
INBOX: @realDonaldTrump has signed an executive order to ban TikTok in 45 days. pic.twitter.com/1zR4HgCPVj
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) August 7, 2020
