Trump Signs Executive Order Giving ByteDance 90 Days to Sell US TikTok Business

[MacRumors]

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell its TikTok business in the United States, citing evidence of possible national security threats from the China-based company.

In the order, the Trump Administration said there's "credible evidence" to suggest that ByteDance "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States."

The order also requires ByteDance to destroy all U.S. user data within the 90-day window, and the company will need to "certify in writing" to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that the data was deleted.

The move, which comes just over a week after Trump signed an executive order that would prohibit "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States" with ByteDance in 45 days, now gives the company a bit more time to formulate a decision on the app's future.

More recently, it was reported that TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration and challenge the President's previous executive order that would ban the video sharing platform from the United States.

TikTok can avoid a potential ban by selling its United States business to an American-based company. Microsoft has publicly confirmed its intention to purchase TikTok in the U.S. within 45 days, and the company is currently in discussions with ByteDance. Twitter has also reportedly expressed interest in a possible acquisition of the service.

In a statement to The Verge, ByteDance said that "TikTok is loved by 100 million Americans because it is a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection," and the company is "committed to continuing to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on [its] platform for many years to come."

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Article Link: Trump Signs Executive Order Giving ByteDance 90 Days to Sell US TikTok Business

 

[fermat-au]

I bid $1

 

[826317]

You can look at this from many different perspectives, but it is undoubtedly in the best interest of the US to do this.

 

[haydn!]

Best interests for the US or not aside, it’s worrying that the President has the power to literally dictate stuff like this - without any consultation with the broader governing system. A very dangerous precedent is being set here!

 

[gnipgnop]

"credible evidence" to suggest that ByteDance "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States."

In other words, it is entirely based on conjecture about possible future actions, not evidence of wrongdoing that has already occurred. In a court of law, that would be a non-starter.

 

[calstanford]

So when is Facebook next? Or is a single person here believing the US government doesn't have access to all our private data there?

 

[fumi2014]

Trump Campaign: "Pandemic? No, the important thing to Americans right now are privacy issues with a Chinese Social Media app."

 

[Piggie]

I bid $1

Given the company is worth $75 Billion.
you may need to increase your bid just a fraction

 

[threesixty360]

So it’s now possible for one man to circumvent the American constitution, congress and the senate, basically all governing bodies and order the shut down of an American company without providing any evidence of law breaking or intent to break the law.

And do this without the company having any legal means to challenge this?

it Makes me wonder why half the country is up in arms about threats to the 1st and 2nd amendments but are totally happy with this one?

surely this undermines the basic freedom of America and is more inline with a dictatorship than a democracy?

Weird.

 

[tridley68]

Thank you President Trump keep up the good work.

 

[Shirasaki]

Wait, a few weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok and WeChat in 45 days. Now he signs another executive order to ban TikTok in 90 days unless the business is purchased by an American company?
I smell something not so right here. What could Trump do with an executive order like that in the future?

 

[Krizoitz]

Thank you President Trump keep up the good work.

Of allowing thousands of Americans to die from COVID each day?
Of removing American military forces in areas that benefits Russia?
Of funneling millions of tax payer dollars to his personal businesses?
Of supporting and defending literal NAZI’s?
Of appointing cronies with no qualifications and massive conflicts of interest to head numerous government agencies?
Of ordering secret police to attack American citizens in violation of their constitutional rights?


Which disaster of Trumps are you particularly proud of?

 

[apparatchik]

Surely US courts will halt this?

Im in favor of the US and the West in General banning Chinese Apps until western Apps can freely operate in continental China, but “executive orders” surely is not the way to go about it? I would argue there might be a national consensus around this

 

[syklee26]

If it is in the best interest of US, I am all for banning the app. But placing a mandate to sell US portion is downright stealing. It should be ByteDance’s sole business decision to when and how to spin off US operation. This is why I said There should be investigation on whether Trump bought MSFT prior to Announcing plans for this exec order.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

Surely US courts will halt this?

Im in favor of the US and the West in General banning Chinese Apps until western Apps can freely operate in continental China, but “executive orders” surely is not the way to go about it? I would argue there might be a national consensus around this

No there isn't and no they won't. national security is national security. If we'd have let the Congress and the courts decide how to deal with the Nazis, everyone in Europe would be speaking German right now and Germany would have invaded America too. President Roosevelt had to take action. Thinking like yours is dangerous for the world.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Of allowing thousands of Americans to die from COVID each day?
Of removing American military forces in areas that benefits Russia?
Of funneling millions of tax payer dollars to his personal businesses?
Of supporting and defending literal NAZI’s?
Of appointing cronies with no qualifications and massive conflicts of interest to head numerous government agencies?
Of ordering secret police to attack American citizens in violation of their constitutional rights?


Which disaster of Trumps are you particularly proud of?

Sarcasm cannot be conveyed through just text. But I interpret the user's profile picture as meaning they don't think highly of Trump and that the post is satire.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

Of allowing thousands of Americans to die from COVID each day?
Of removing American military forces in areas that benefits Russia?
Of funneling millions of tax payer dollars to his personal businesses?
Of supporting and defending literal NAZI’s?
Of appointing cronies with no qualifications and massive conflicts of interest to head numerous government agencies?
Of ordering secret police to attack American citizens in violation of their constitutional rights?


Which disaster of Trumps are you particularly proud of?

in the USA U r free! ... too die too ... health is governour. thing, not federal or president

removing forces benefits no one, it’s just Common Sense, for pacifists, seems u r a war monger

moving tax money to friends is normal in our western world

well, nazis suck

no qualification is THE qualification for government jobs, watch Mars attacks

If he really had broken constitutional rights, ms. Nancy would have cried for impeachment - so I guess you are lying on that

The fun thing is, if trump gets gone, Biden comes ... your list for him would be interesting

greetings from Austria, vienna - where almost everyone hates trump AND the USA, 😂

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

If it is in the best interest of US, I am all for banning the app. But placing a mandate to sell US portion is downright stealing. It should be ByteDance’s sole business decision to when and how to spin off US operation. This is why I said There should be investigation on whether Trump bought MSFT prior to Announcing plans for this exec order.

Trump cannot buy MSFT stock. He's out of all of his businesses. But his sons could.
But you cannot go after them any more than anyone will go after Hunter Biden for investing all the Biden family money in China.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

If it is in the best interest of US, I am all for banning the app. But placing a mandate to sell US portion is downright stealing. It should be ByteDance’s sole business decision to when and how to spin off US operation. This is why I said There should be investigation on whether Trump bought MSFT prior to Announcing plans for this exec order.

On the one hand, you're completely right that this isn't how things should work.

On the other hand, this is how China handles outside companies. IE, historically, non-Chinese companies are not allowed to operate car factories on their own within China - they're required to have a Chinese company with at least 50% ownership of the operations within that factory. They've just tweaked the rules so that Tesla (a US company) can be the sole owner of their factory in Shanghai, but I believe it came with other strings attached (I think there's some additional taxes that get applied to Tesla's Chinese-made vehicles that aren't applied to other vehicles made in China, whether said vehicles were made solely by a Chinese company or only jointly by one.)

 

[4jasontv]

On the plus side, most of us won't be able to remember WW3.

 

[2010mini]

So the same man who harshly criticized Obama for Executive Orders, has been using Executive Orders more than him.

And not a peep from the his party that said they were against EOs....., hmmmm.

GOP and Trump have now effectively turned the Executive Branch into a dictatorship. By allowing it to grab new powers. The shortsightedness of this is alarming. And it is going to come back and bite them in the ass.

Rule number 1: whenever you give government new powers. It does not give them back. So what you think was great when “your guy” is in office. Will turn around and bite you in the ass when someone of the other party occupies the same office.

 

[826317]

Of allowing thousands of Americans to die from COVID each day?
Of removing American military forces in areas that benefits Russia?
Of funneling millions of tax payer dollars to his personal businesses?
Of supporting and defending literal NAZI’s?
Of appointing cronies with no qualifications and massive conflicts of interest to head numerous government agencies?
Of ordering secret police to attack American citizens in violation of their constitutional rights?


Which disaster of Trumps are you particularly proud of?

How did you manage to lie about every single thing you've put in your little list there? hahaha

 

[2010mini]

Trump cannot buy MSFT stock. He's out of all of his businesses. But his sons could.
But you cannot go after them any more than anyone will go after Hunter Biden for investing all the Biden family money in China.

Trump is still profiting from his businesses that his sons are a part of. So if they buy, he will be in violation.
[automerge]1597498624[/automerge]

How did you manage to lie about every single thing you've put in your little list there? hahaha

Please show us the lies.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Trumps to-do list for this week:

1) Mandate that shower heads can dump more water out of multiple showerheads so your "hair can be perfect".
2) Kick Tik-tok out of the US
3) Cripple the US Postal Service.
4) Order more Executive Order pads.

Important stuff. Done.

 

[4jasontv]

How did you manage to lie about every single thing you've put in your little list there? hahaha

Do you think they wrote that while laying down? Is that why you thought the list felt little?