TikTok granted 15-day extension to reach deal with U.S. buyers
Updated 18:04, 14-Nov-2020
CGTN

The U.S. government on Friday granted popular video-sharing app TikTok a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed.

This extension of the original November 12, 2020 deadline, now to November 27, will provide additional time for ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, and American companies Oracle and Walmart to conclude a deal to solve what the Trump administration claimed as national security concerns over TikTok's U.S. operations. 

Under the deal, Oracle and Walmart will become TikTok's "trusted technology providers," responsible for U.S. users data security. Both the U.S. partners will take part in a TikTok Global pre-IPO financing, after which they can take up to a 20-percent stake, while ByteDance owns 80 percent stake, according to a TikTok statement earlier. 

However, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. won't approve the TikTok deal if Oracle and Walmart do not have total control of the company, just a day after he said he "approved the deal in concept." 

Trump's August 14 order requires ByteDance and TikTok to undertake specific divestments and other measures to address the alleged national security risk arising from ByteDance's acquisition of Musical.ly.  

In late 2019, based on concerns on national security, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) started investigating TikTok's acquisition of Musical.ly, which closed in 2018. 

Read more: Timeline: How TikTok struggled with Trump's political attacks

In another separate order signed by Trump on August 6, U.S. companies are prohibited from making transactions with ByteDance or its subsidiaries pursuant under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it would delay enforcement of the ban on TikTok in compliance with a court order in favor of the Chinese-owned social media sensation. 

The department said in a statement that a shutdown order won't go into effect "pending further legal developments."

Read more: U.S. won't enforce TikTok ban following court order

TikTok has made no comment yet to CGTN's request regarding the filing.

(Cover via CFP)