Washington: The clock is ticking toward a US ban on TikTok, but users seeking clarity on what that will mean did not get much Saturday from the company that runs the popular video-sharing platform or the tech giants that offer the TikTok app in their digital marketplaces.
However, President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News that he was considering granting an extension that might allow TikTok to keep going beyond Sunday, when a law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to US users takes effect.
The ban’s timing has complicated matters, perhaps in TikTok’s favour: the outgoing Biden administration reiterated Saturday that it considers the law’s implementation and enforcement to be the responsibility of Trump, who takes office on Monday and has pledged to “save” the trend-setting app.
Under the law, TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, had nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to extend the deadline by 90 days if a sale is in progress.
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance on Saturday to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok US business, according to a person familiar with the matter. If successful, the new structure would also include other investors and allow ByteDance’s existing shareholders to retain their stake in the company, the person said.
Perplexity is not asking to purchase the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok users videos based on their interests and has made the platform such a phenomenon. The person said they believed a fair price for TikTok – without the algorithm – is north of $50 billion.
If the merger plan is successful, the algorithm would need to be rebuilt. It would also lead to more AI-powered searches on TikTok, the person said.
Other potential buyers have been eyeing TikTok. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary recently said a consortium of investors that he and billionaire Frank McCourt put together offered ByteDance USD20 billion in cash.
Trump told NBC News that he “most likely” would give TikTok the extension after his inauguration. ByteDance previously said it would not sell, but TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.
Why is TikTok’s future in the US so unclear?
The US Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law that banned TikTok unless ByteDance divested itself of its US holdings. In issuing the decision, justices rejected Trump’s request to wait until his administration could pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.
TikTok, ByteDance and some of the devoted users who rely on the platform argued the statute violated the First Amendment. The Biden administration sought to show ByteDance’s ownership and control of TikTok posed an unacceptable national security threat.
TikTok asked the Biden administration late for a “definitive statement” that would assure Google, Apple and other companies they would not face fines if they continued making its service available nationwide. Otherwise, TikTok said it “will be forced to go dark” on Sunday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s demand “a stunt.”
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office,” Jean-Pierre said Saturday. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent on Saturday.
AP
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