What China has come up with about the sale of TikTok in the US
Beijing's new restrictions on AI exports could force ByteDance to get Chinese government approval before selling TikTok's US assets to Microsoft, Oracle, Walmart, the sale could be announced as early as tomorrow, according to CNBC
The sale of TikTok's US, New Zealand and Australian businesses could be announced shortly, perhaps as early as Tuesday. Cnbc reports it citing some sources, according to which TikTok would have chosen a buyer.
The Microsoft-Walmart and Oracle tandem are in pole position to win the acquisition between 20 and 30 billion dollars (according to rumors).
But Beijing has put a hand in the US operation of TikTok.
In fact, China has introduced new restrictions on the export of technologies related to artificial intelligence that could make it more difficult for ByteDance to sell the American activities of TikTok to a US company. The sale of the social platform with 100 million users in the United States should therefore obtain the approval of the Chinese government.
ByteDance said it has taken note of the change in the export regulation and that "the company will strictly abide by the laws".
With two executive orders, President Donald Trump is forcing ByteDance to divest the short video app in the United States due to security concerns about the personal data it handles. Last week TikTok sued the US government over Trump's executive order.
Meanwhile, TikTok expands its operations in Australia , advertising over 20 full-time job offers "to help develop and promote Australian content".
Finally, today Bobby Sarnevesht, executive president of Triller , the rival American app of TikTok, told CNBC that he had submitted an offer for the Chinese app in collaboration with Centricus, a London-based investment company. A claim that TikTok has directly denied.
Here are all the details.
THE MOVE OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, will not be able to sell the US operations of the popular app without the authorization of the Chinese government.
China updated its list of export-restricted technologies on Friday . Among these, the technologies of “personalized information services based on data analysis”, which could concern the ByteDance TikTok app.
In fact, TikTok is based on algorithms that analyze user behavior to send personalized content.
China has not updated the export list since 2008. Companies wishing to export technologies on the list must obtain a license from the government, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
The measure is motivated by China's need to safeguard its national security.
THE BYTEDANCE POSITION (OWNER OF TIKTOK)
ByteDance will follow the new rules on the export of some sensitive technologies defined by China in the midst of the imminent sale of TikTok. In a statement, the company said it took note of the changes to the export regulation and that "the company will strictly adhere" to the new guidelines.
ALSO TRILLER INTERESTED IN THE OPERATION?
Bloomberg also reported today that Centricus and Triller were looking to buy TikTok's assets in the US, Australia, New Zealand and India, citing a person familiar with the matter.
This was denied by TikTok itself. The company told CNBC that it is not in talks to sell its business to rival short video sharing app Triller.
However, Triller executive chairman Bobby Sarnevesht insisted that they had submitted the offer.
TITOK, THE LAST FRONTIER OF THE CHINA VS USA WAR
TikTok rose to global prominence thanks to short user-generated videos but came under scrutiny for privacy concerns. World leaders, starting with US President Donald Trump, have criticized the social media giant by threatening to ban it, fearing that Chinese authorities could access user data.
With the executive order signed by Trump on August 6, Washington gave China's ByteDance 45 days to hand over control of TikTok in the United States to an American competitor. In the event of a non-US acquisition by mid-November, Washington will ban the short video app.
For its part, TikTok has consistently denied the allegations. The company claims that US user data is stored in the country itself with a backup in Singapore. Adding that its data centers are located outside of China, which implies that the information is not subject to Chinese law.
The TikTok issue follows a broader deterioration in relations between China and the United States, with trade tensions escalating this year following the coronavirus outbreak and the passing of the new security law in Hong Kong.
WHAT TIKTOK WILL DO IN AUSTRALIA
Meanwhile, TikTok tries to curry favor with Australia. The company intends to expand "fast-paced" operations in the country, a TikTok spokesperson told national broadcaster ABC .
“This includes employing skilled local talent to support the Australian TikTok community in content, operations and business. We are investing further in our creative users and local brands. We see great opportunities for rapid growth in Australia, which continues to be a priority market for us, ”the spokesperson added.
The platform, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and launched in 2017-2018, already has offices operating in Asia, the Americas and Europe.
THE POSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANBERRA
Unlike Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians in early August to be aware that their data is likely being collected by TikTok, but failed to indicate a possible ban.
The Australian government is looking for ways to manage the privacy risks posed by social media companies such as TikTok and WeChat. But it decided that any kind of nationwide ban or restriction on apps is not guaranteed for national security reasons.
Australia thus diverged from the United States, an ally of the "Five Eyes", an Anglophone intelligence pact that also includes the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
The company points out that Australian user data is stored in the US and Singapore and that measures are in place to "minimize access to data".
AUSTRALIAN CEO IN REPLACEMENT OF AMERICAN
Meanwhile, TikTok has named Australian Vanessa Pappas as the interim CEO of the US-based company, following the resignation of Kevin Mayer who spent only a few months in the role last Thursday.
In a letter to employees, former Disney executive Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after "the political environment has changed dramatically."
Last Friday Pappas said in an interview with Cnbc that he had seen synergies with Walmart thanks to the new e-commerce tools within the TikTok app.
All that remains is to wait for tomorrow to find out who among Microsoft-Walmart, Oracle or anyone else has won the US operations of TikTok.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-ha-escogitato-la-cina-sulla-vendita-di-tiktok-negli-usa/ on Mon, 31 Aug 2020 06:22:02 +0000.