![]() One scenario is that Congress passes one in the near future, possibly taking some of the heat off TikTok. doesn’t have a national law for privacy on the internet as some other countries do. Scenario 6: Congress passes a privacy law for all appsĪs privacy advocates are always quick to note, the U.S. business could pursue either an initial public offering as a standalone company or a sale to a large tech firm such as Microsoft at a valuation of perhaps $40 billion to $50 billion, the news service said. TikTok’s leadership considers a sale a last resort, Bloomberg News reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter. China also imposed export restrictions in 2020 that might complicate the transfer of TikTok’s algorithms, although how the rules might apply isn’t clear, according to CNBC. Beijing has said it would “ resolutely oppose” a sale, arguing it would damage investors and hurt confidence for others investing in the United States. G42, an investment firm from the United Arab Emirates, bought shares last month, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the deal.Ĭhina hopes to block this path. Founders and employees own “most of the rest,” she said. More than 60% of shares are in the hands of “Western investment firms” such as Sequoia Capital, Fidelity and BlackRock, according to congressional testimony last year from Vanessa Pappas, TikTok’s chief operating officer. It would avoid the messy political and legal fights over a ban, and users might not notice a difference.Īnd ByteDance is already owned mostly by outsiders. business from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would in some ways be the easiest path to take. ![]() Scenario 5: ByteDance sells itĪ spinoff of TikTok’s U.S. So, one scenario is that he never does.Īnd if TikTok or its users wanted to take that path again, they’ll have even more legal muscle the second time around: TikTok has been on a hiring spree for lawyers in the past three years and has plans to hire many more lawyers, Bloomberg Law reported last month, citing eight recent hires and more open positions listed on a TikTok jobs board. The idea of a TikTok ban has been floating around since before Biden took office more than two years ago, and he hasn’t done it. Scenario 3: Biden does something small, or nothing at all It would likely need to defend the ban in court - something Trump tried and failed to do in 2020 - and it wouldn’t have the political cover of acting in concert with Congress. State governors have already been going down that path.īut this path involves a lot of legal and political risk for the White House. The next step, in this scenario, might be an executive order from Biden echoing what Trump issued in 2020. ![]() NBC News has not confirmed that reporting. A federal government board known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has already privately demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their stakes in the app, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing anonymous sources whom it described as people familiar with the matter. If Congress doesn’t pass the bill, the Biden administration could still try to restrict or ban TikTok using its current legal authority. “Have faith that our desire for freedom is strong enough to survive a few dance videos,” Paul said. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked an attempt to fast-track the RESTRICT Act, citing free expression. Not every senator is rushing to endorse a TikTok ban. Scenario 2: Congress doesn’t act, but Biden bans it anyway In this scenario, if the House and Senate pass it, a ban could become a reality less than a year after Congress acts. The bill is a long way from becoming law, but it already has the backing of a quarter of the Senate. isn’t the only country acting on this,” he tweeted Thursday. “Nations across the globe have made steps to mitigate foreign tech. Mark Warner, D-Va., one of the sponsors, said similar laws are proliferating globally. The bill also doesn’t leave much wiggle room for deliberation, saying the secretary shouldn’t take more than 180 days to determine if something is an “unacceptable risk.” There are lots of questions about how a TikTok ban might work, but the RESTRICT Act is sweeping in its language, saying the commerce secretary “shall take action” to mitigate certain risks.
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