US lawmakers urge delay in banning TikTok, China offers to sell to billionaire Elon Musk

Two Democratic lawmakers yesterday (January 13) urged Congress and US President Joe Biden to delay the January 19 deadline to give Chinese company ByteDance time to sell TikTok assets in the United States or face a ban.

Ban extended for another 270 days

The US Supreme Court heard arguments over the weekend about TikTok and ByteDance’s challenge to the law, with Noel Francisco, a lawyer for the company, saying it would be impossible to complete the sale before next week’s deadline.

Senator Edward Markey could invoke legislation to delay the TikTok ban deadline by 270 days.

Mr. Francesco assessed that if banned, the short video app used by 170 million Americans would quickly be discontinued and 'the platform would essentially shut down'.

President Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies that ByteDance is making substantial progress toward divestment, but it is unlikely that ByteDance will meet that standard.

Senator Edward Markey announced he plans to introduce legislation to delay the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by 270 days.

"The ban would destroy a unique information and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process. A ban on TikTok would have dire consequences for millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connection and economic livelihood. We cannot let that happen," said Senator Edward Markey.

President-elect Donald Trump has asked the court to delay the law's implementation, arguing that he should have time after taking office on January 20 to pursue a "political solution" to the issue.

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat, on Monday urged Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump to “pause this ban so that 170 million Americans do not lose their freedom of speech. Millions of Americans will have their livelihoods ended if this ban is implemented.”

If the court doesn’t block the law on January 19, new TikTok downloads on Apple or Google will be blocked, but existing users will be able to continue accessing the app for a while longer. Services will degrade and eventually stop working because the companies won’t be allowed to provide support.

Negotiating to sell TikTok in the US to billionaire Elon Musk

Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a potential sale of TikTok’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an imminent ban, according to Bloomberg. Beijing officials want TikTok to remain under the control of its parent company, Bytedance, the people said.

Bloomberg reported that China is in preliminary negotiations to sell the TikTok social networking app in the US to Tesla boss, the world's richest billionaire Elon Musk.

TikTok's US operations could be sold through a competitive process or a government deal, the report said, suggesting the app's future is no longer entirely in ByteDance's control.

The Chinese government has a "stake" in ByteDance, which some members of Congress say gives the government power over TikTok.

Under one scenario, Musk's social media platform X would take control of TikTok in the United States and jointly run the business, but officials have yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed, Bloomberg reported.

It remains unclear how much ByteDance knew about the discussions, or about Musk or TikTok's involvement, and there is no word on whether ByteDance, TikTok, or Musk were involved in any negotiations regarding a possible deal.

TikTok has previously said that the government's stake "is not related to ByteDance's global operations outside of China, including TikTok."

Last week, the US Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold legislation that would force the sale or ban of TikTok in the United States on January 19, citing national security concerns related to China.

(Source: Reuters, Bloomberg)

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/cac-nha-lap-phap-my-thuc-giuc-hoan-cam-tiktok-trung-quoc-ngo-y-ban-cho-ty-phu-elon-musk-192250114120436016.htm