TikTok ban in the United States: Donald Trump says TikTok is a threat to national security (representation)
Beijing, China:
Beijing on Monday accused the Trump administration of abusing “national power” by trying to ban TikTok, as a federal court suspended execution of the video app’s U.S. operations.
A U.S. government order aimed to ban new downloads of the app owned by Chinese from midnight (04:00 GMT Monday) – but allow the use of TIC Tac until November 12, when all use would be blocked.
President Donald Trump claims the popular app poses a threat to national security and collects data for Beijing through its Chinese parent company ByteDance – allegations the company vehemently denies.
Describing the order as “intimidating behavior,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was evidence of “abuse of national power to unreasonably suppress companies in China. other countries”.
Instead, the United States should “provide a fair, just, open and non-discriminatory business environment for companies around the world that invest and operate in the country,” Wang added.
China says Trump is heavily arming the company to forgo full ownership of a lucrative app – with 100 million U.S. subscribers – to a U.S. rival.
But on Sunday night, a U.S. federal court issued a temporary block to the order after lawyers for TikTok successfully argued it was a “punitive” ban motivated by politics rather than genuine fears. for the safety.
The details of the injunction remain sealed by the Washington court for now.
The US pressure on TikTok is part of a litany of issues that are sharpening relations between rival powers, spanning technology, defense, human rights and contested seas.
U.S. tech giants have also worried about the precedent a ban could set for free internet – and the prospect of retaliation against U.S. companies operating in the vast Chinese market.
ByteDance has started discussing a complex transfer of ownership to Silicon Valley giant Oracle.
A tentative deal unveiled last weekend would make Oracle TikTok’s technology partner and a stakeholder in a new entity called TikTok Global.
TikTok said on Sunday it would “maintain our ongoing dialogue with the government” on the plan, which has received preliminary approval from Trump.
But it was still not clear whether the deal would be approved by Beijing, where some see the US move as an unwarranted appropriation of Chinese technology.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
