New Chinese government restrictions could complicate the purchase of TikTok by a US company. The Chinese authorities have recently revised the law that governs the sale of certain kinds of technologies to foreign buyers. Thus, in order to sell TikTok to a foreign company, ByteDance should obtain government permission. Importantly, the process can last up to 30 days. Therefore, the popular video-sharing service is unlikely to be sold within the terms indicated by Donald Trump.
The new rules were clearly introduced in a hurry and aimed at delaying the sale of the popular application to American buyers. Thus, the Chinese officials quickly revised the rules that included the kind of tech that was used by TikTok. Beijing's actions came as no surprise to anyone as in this case political interests were closely intertwined with business. It is sometimes difficult to figure out whether it is a commercial company or a government agency, as, for example, in Huawei’s case.
Cui Fan, a trade expert, states: "TikTok's recommendation algorithm relies on domestic technology that might need to be transferred to a new overseas owner." It seems like, hiding behind high-sounding words about national security and public welfare, Beijing has suspended negotiations on the sale of TikTok for a long time.
Washington believes that TikTok collects personal data of American users which can be used by the Chinese government in order to disseminate false information.
