On February 10, the Justice Department asked to delay the government’s appeal of the December federal district court injunction against the TikTok ban. In 2016, the Commerce Department put trade sanctions on ZTE and subpoenaed Huawei following allegations of exports to sanctioned nations.įast forward to the Biden administration, which seemed to be taking the recent court challenges and decisions into account. In 2010, only two years into Barack Obama’s first term, Chinese telecom firms Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corporation were shut out of a lucrative contract to supply Sprint Nextel as then Commerce Secretary Gary Locke expressed concerns, and the Defense Department indicated Chinese cyber capabilities could threaten its network. How will the Biden administration act toward these and other Chinese tech firms? A look back at Obama administration policies can help gauge possible forthcoming actions. And on January 15, the Trump administration agreed to extend the deadline to February 18 for TikTok’s potential sale to American investors. government’s use of emergency-powers authority. In mid-January, an appeals court expressed skepticism of the WeChat ban, questioning the U.S. In separate decisions in October and December, judges blocked the Commerce Department from implementing restrictions on TikTok. courts, and arguments in favor of protecting free speech seemed to be winning the Chinese apps reprieves from restriction. The chances for approval seemed slim, and as of mid-February, the Commerce Bureau’s website listed no technology export approval for ByteDance’s application.īoth American bans also faced legal challenges in U.S. While ByteDance maintained the deal would not involve the transfer of any algorithms and technology, it nevertheless applied for a permit from the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau in accordance with the regulations. TikTok’s artificial intelligence interactive interface, as well as its information push service, fell within the restricted technologies. At the end of August, China’s Ministry of Commerce published a revised catalog of technologies prohibited or restricted for export from China. In the midst of the bombardment of American actions and reactions, the Chinese government had its own concerns about a possible sale of TikTok’s valuable algorithm. However, when ByteDance asserted it would in fact keep its 80 percent share, Trump promptly reversed course, and continued his campaign against the app. Oracle indicated ByteDance would eventually lose its ownership share, and President Trump initially indicated his approval. In September, the Commerce Department announce d further prohibitions on Internet hosting and content delivery of the two apps, as well as on use of WeChat’s popular WeChat Pay function for transfer of funds within the U.S.īytedance responded to the TikTok sanctions by proposing the creation of a new company, TikTok Global, in which American companies Oracle and Walmart would hold a 20 percent stake, to ByteDance’s 80 percent ownership. (CFIUS), which in 2019 had conducted an investigation of the acquisition of the American company, would be the mechanism to enforce the Treasury order. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The initial executive orders were quickly followed with a Treasury Department order that ByteDance divest itself of Musical.ly, the U.S.-based social media platform ByteDance had purchased in 2017 and merged into Tiktok. Chinese students and expatriates, along with some Americans with personal or business interests in China, would be most affected by the restrictions. user base was far smaller, at some 19 million daily active users. While the number of American TikTok users was vast, the app’s content and demographic makeup indicate the threat to national security was likely overstated.Īs for WeChat, its U.S. The app allows users to make short videos often including dancing, lip-synching, and comedy, and fostered a cadre of celebrities with great appeal to the app’s youthful community – as of June 2020, some 62 percent of TikTok users were younger than 30. At the time of his announcement, TikTok revealed it had some 100 million monthly active users and more than 50 million daily active users in the U.S. Trump asserted in his orders that the two apps threatened the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the U.S. Recent American court decisions and post-Trump political actions appear to throw lifelines to both Chinese tech services, at least in the short run. Following a series of additional prohibitions, as well as administrative and judicial delays in implementing them, the Trump administration in January ceded authority to the Biden presidency, with both apps still very much alive among U.S. In August 2020, President Donald Trump took aim at two dominant Chinese apps, signing executive orders intending to restrict American use of both TikTok and WeChat.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |