US TikTok ban: Chinese officials weigh Elon Musk buying platform as shutdown looms | Company Business News
Chinese officials are exploring an option for Elon Musk to take over TikTok if the popular social media company fails to avoid a ban in the US, Bloomberg reports. While Chinese officials would reportedly prefer to keep TikTok in the hands of parent company ByteDance, senior government officials have already begun discussing contingency plans for TikTok and how to work with the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Notably, TikTok has appealed the impending ban in the US to the Supreme Court, but the justices have shown an inclination to uphold the law, which would force the company to be sold or face a ban in the country by January 19.
US lawmakers urge Biden to extend deadline for TikTok ban:
According to a Reuters report, two Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden and Congress to extend the January 19 deadline for the sale or ban in order to allow 170 million Americans to continue using the app.
President Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies that ByteDance is making substantial progress towards divestiture, but the company is unlikely to meet that standard, the report added.
US Senator Edward Markey is planning to bring legislation to delay the Jan 19 deadline by an additional 270 days.
“A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process,” Markey was quoted by Reuters as saying.
“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.” the Senator added
Why is TikTok facing ban in the US?
During the recent proceedings in front of the Supreme Court, the Biden-led Justice Department warned about the “grave national-security threats” posed by Chinese ownership of TikTok. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the platform collects “sensitive data about tens of millions of Americans” and could be exploited for covert foreign influence operations.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump, in a filing, has urged the Supreme Court to pause a law to ban the social media platform if its Chinese parent company does not sell it. Trump asked the court for time following his January 20 inauguration to “seek a negotiated resolution” to the conflict. While refraining from taking a definitive position on the constitutionality of the law, which is scheduled to take effect on January 19, he acknowledged it raised “sweeping and troubling” free speech concerns, as per the report.
Notably, In his first term, President Trump had expressed a willingness to let TikTok be sold to a U.S. company, emphasising that the federal government should benefit financially from any sale.
