The Biden Administration Shelve’s U.S. Takeover of TikTok

This week President Joe Biden’s administration has backed off any attempts to ban social media and popular video app TikTok.

The administration has asked a court to postpone a legal dispute over the proposed ban which had been implemented by former president Donald Trump.

Trump had concerns that the Chinese government could spy on TikTok users if the app remains under Chinese ownership.

A court filing on Wednesday this week said the U.S. Commerce Department is reviewing whether Trump’s claims about TikTok’s threat to national security justified the attempts to ban it from smartphone app stores and deny it vital technical services.

The Biden administration has also “indefinitely” shelved a proposed U.S. takeover of TikTok, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Oracle and Walmart had been expected to take a large stake in the Chinese company.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration hasn’t taken a “new proactive step” in the process and did not deny the WSJ report.

According to Psaki, the Biden administration is comprehensively evaluating risks to U.S. data, including those involving TikTok.

The Biden administration appears to be creating a clearer set of criteria to evaluate which Chinese technology platforms pose a legitimate security risk to Americans, said Samm Sacks, a China expert at Yale Law School.

“I don’t think they see TikTok itself as a high-priority issue,” she explained.

“This one-off ban on a rotating cast of Chinese tech companies, that’s not likely to continue.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.