TikTok Firms Against Trump Administration
There is no backing down TikTok’s resolve to stand up for itself.
The days now near for the executive order’s expiration issued by President Trump. This will effectively push the entertainment app away from the United States’ borders. The Chinese-owned app has thus retaliated with a lawsuit.
Representatives from TikTok claimed that Trump’s move to ban the app is unconstitutional and, therefore, should not be adopted.
Further, they claim that the President exceeded his authority and is violating the company’s free speech rights.
It is worth noting that the administration’s EO, issued on August 6, declared a national emergency to ban TikTok from the US.
This received several backlashes from experts where some see the declaration as an abuse of power to avoid due process.
For the record, the Trump administration accused TikTok of espionage. It had fed the Chinese Communist Party with the private information of Americans.
Due to this, the Chinese app is considered a national security threat in the United States. This is also because its has a competitive foothold on modern technology fanatics.
It was not only the video-sharing app that suffered such wide-ranging measures. The administration also targeted other Sino tech companies, particularly Tencent’s WeChat and Huawei, over the same claims.
In the lawsuit, the Bytedance-owned app claims that they resorted to extraordinary measures to protect the privacy of their more than 100 million US users, claiming that their data is stored in Virginia and protected by software barriers to ensure safety.
TikTok attorneys further claim that the ban did not emerge from the security threat issue. It was, in fact, a selfish act by the President and his anti-China political campaign.
Oracle: Save the Best for Last?
American technology frontrunners, notably Microsoft, Twitter, and Oracle, were at the top of technology news after leaked rumors of their interest to buy the US operations of the popular app.
Nothing is clear yet on who will get the coveted TikTok. However, another entity is entering the picture, with rather strong supporters.
President Trump expressed his support for Oracle’s bid to buy the entertainment app, along with his usual quid-pro-quo concession. He demanded a generous chunk of TikTok’s US operations sale, which is pegged between $20 billion to $50 billion.
Reports claim that Oracle officially met the app’s China-based owner. Consequently, it has teamed up with two of ByteDance’s major investors, General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, for the possibility of joining the bid.
The deal entails Oracle’s interest in buying not only the operations in the US, but also in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This is similar to that of Microsoft’s operations, targeting subsections in English-speaking countries.
General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital are in a tight spot for backing the modern technology giant due to a conflict of interest.
One string pulls in one direction, as it is their responsibility to maximize the value of TikTok for ByteDance’s advantage. The other is pulling in the opposite direction, trying to buy TikTok’s US arm at a good price to maximize its potential.
Oracle’s entry into the picture is just in time, as the 90-day deadline to sell is running to its end.
This gives the multinational tech firm limited time to beat around the bush and, therefore, call most of its shots to its advantage.
