US Extends Deadline for Sale of TikTok’s US Operations to December

On September 16, US President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for the sale of the US operations of the Chinese-developed app “TikTok” to December 16. The previous deadline was September 17, but the extension was due to the need to ensure time for the necessary procedures while the Chinese and US governments reach a framework agreement on the sale.

On the 15th, China and the US announced a framework agreement on the sale of TikTok’s US operations following ministerial-level consultations in Madrid, Spain. The Chinese government, which had previously been opposed to the sale, has now decided to proceed with the necessary approvals within China.

The details of the China-US agreement are expected to be announced after Trump’s consultations with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 19th.

Details of the sale, including the buyer of the US operations and whether TikTok’s underlying technology, such as its algorithms, managed in China, will be transferred to the US, remain unclear.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the 16th that negotiations are underway to acquire TikTok’s US operations with a consortium consisting of Oracle, the US investment fund Silver Lake, and the US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which provides cloud computing services to the company.

According to the Wall Street Journal, US users will be migrated to a new app currently under development by TikTok. The algorithm that determines content recommendations is expected to be redeveloped using technology provided by TikTok.

Regarding TikTok, US regulations implemented in January prohibit the company from continuing to provide services in the US under Chinese capital, forcing the company to choose between selling its business to US capital or exiting the US market.

The regulations, pushed through by the previous Biden administration, stipulate that the president can only extend the sale deadline “for a maximum of 90 days” and “only once.” This is Trump’s fourth extension of the sale deadline, effectively ignoring the law.