The December 4th deadline wont be enforced
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The Trump administration wont enforce its own deadline for ByteDance to sell or spin out video-sharing platform TikToks business in the US, according to Bloomberg.
The latest deadline for that move, given by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on November 28th, was today, December 4th. An extension isnt expected, though the current deadline will be overlooked while the discussions continue between the Trump administration and TikTok, Bloomberg reports.
CNN tech reporter Brian Fung is corroborating that the US wont enforce its own deadline, with his sources amusingly suggesting that the lack of a deadline is proof that the US is highly motivated to complete talks about the sale.
US officials are highly motivated to complete the talks, the person said, and added that the lack of a new, specific deadline is indicative of that.
Brian Fung (@b_fung) December 5, 2020
The Trump administration has repeatedly argued that TikTok and ByteDance are a national security risk, and the US Commerce Department issued an order to block downloads of TikTok in September. But Trump then said that he approved of a bid by Oracle and Walmart in concept to create a new US-based entity called TikTok Global, though its not clear how that would address concerns of security risks. That deal also requires final approval from China, which hasnt come yet, either.
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