US President Donald Trump extended the time for ByteDance to sell or spin off its US TikTok business from 45 to 90 days in an executive order issued Friday.
This is seen as good news for TikTok and its future in the US. The prior executive order could have forced US based app stores to stop distributing the TikTok app if ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest from it in 45 days.
The new order buys time for ByteDance to sort out a potential deal for TikTok in the states.
“There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance ... might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” Trump said in the executive order.
Under the latest order, ByteDance is expected to destroy all its copies of TikTok data attached to US users, and inform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) when it has destroyed all that data.
On August 7, in response to the US government's executive order, ByteDance released a statement saying that it will take to US court if the US government fails to treat TikTok fairly.
ByteDance threatens to sue US government for TikTok treatment
According to the statement, the "reports" cited in the executive order are of unknown or unverified origin, and concerns that the app "may" be used for false advertising have no basis in fact.
"We have made it clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government and has never reviewed content upon request," the statement said.
"In fact, we have made our review policy and algorithm source code public by establishing the Transparency Center, and no comparable technology company has yet committed to such a responsibility," it added.
