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U.S. Government Now Warns TikTok Could Be Banned Next Sunday

Original target date expanded by one week to September 27

Sep 20, 2020 08:33 GMT  ·  By
TikTok was originally supposed to be banned today
   TikTok was originally supposed to be banned today

TikTok is getting one extra week to resolve its problems in the United States, according to an announcement published by the U.S. Department of Commerce a few hours ago, as President Trump seems to be favoring a potential partnership of the Chinese firm with Oracle and Walmart.

TikTok has previously been involved in takeover talks with Microsoft, but the negotiations failed after Chinese owner ByteDance rejected the bid.

At that point, President Trump announced a September 20 deadline for TikTok to find an American partner, explaining that otherwise the Chinese service would just be banned and removed from app stores.

WeChat was supposed to face similar sanctions due to claimed ties with the Chinese government and user data collection.

“While the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are not identical, they are similar. Each collects vast swaths of data from users, including network activity, location data, and browsing and search histories. Each is an active participant in China’s civil-military fusion and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the CCP.  This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said.

One more week for TikTok

But as TikTok’s discussions with Oracle and Walmart advance, President Trump has decided to push back the deadline to September 27, essentially giving the Chinese company one more week to address the complaints in the United States. On the other hand, WeChat should officially be banned in the country starting today.

“In light of recent positive developments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Trump, will delay the prohibition of identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to the TikTok mobile application that would have been effective on Sunday, September 20, 2020, until September 27, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.,” the Department of Commerce announced.

ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart have so far remained tight-lipped on this one-week extension.