Pres. Trump will extend the deadline for the sale to US ownership.
- Have made tremendous progress on TikTok deal
- I am signing an executive order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days
- He hopes to continue working in good faith with China
- we do not want TikTok to go dark
- We look forward to working with TIkTok and China to close the deal
- I understand China is not very happy about our reciprocal tariff.
As a review:
🔐 National Security Concerns
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U.S. officials have raised alarms over TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance, a Chinese company.
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Fears center around the potential for the Chinese government to access user data, due to China’s national intelligence laws which can compel companies to share information.
📲 Data Privacy Risks
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The app collects a wide range of data, including:
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Location data
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Browsing history
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Device identifiers
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Concerns exist that this data could be used for surveillance or influence campaigns.
🎯 Content Influence & Algorithm Manipulation
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Lawmakers have warned that TikTok’s algorithm could be used to promote or suppress certain content, potentially influencing public opinion or even elections.
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The concern is not just data collection, but information control.
🏛️ Government Device Bans
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The app has already been banned on federal government devices, as well as by many U.S. states, citing national security threats.
📝 Legislative Push
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Efforts to force ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations have intensified.
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In 2020, President Trump issued an executive order to ban TikTok unless it was sold to a U.S. company. That order was blocked in court.
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In 2023–2024, bipartisan legislation emerged aiming to ban TikTok or force a sale unless ByteDance divested.
Some national secuirty concerns are more important than others. Meanwhile, the National Security concerns get kicked down the road. Of course what if the Chinese government will not allow a sale? What if China’s Xi wants to use the sale as a bargaining piece for tariffs? This is a long way off from a solution.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.
