Tiktok granted seven-day extension to US sale order
Tiktok has been granted a seven-day extension to an order forcing the viral video app to sell its US operations.
The Trump administration had given parent company Bytedance a 15-day extension of the order issued in August, which was set to expire tomorrow.
The latest change means Tiktok has until 4 December to resolve concerns about national security or potentially be forced to sell its US business.
The Chinese tech firm has been locked in talks for months over a potential deal with Oracle and Walmart, which would see its US assets moved into a new entity.
Bytedance this month said it had tabled a fresh proposal as it looks to break through an impasse caused by concerns over the new company’s planned ownership structure.
Under this proposal, the spin-off company would be wholly owned by Oracle, Walmart and existing US investors in Bytedance. It would handle all of Tiktok’s US data and content moderation.
But the company has now issued a new proposal — the fifth in a lengthy back-and-forth between the two sides — in an attempt to assuage government concerns, Reuters reported.
A US Treasury representative said the week-long extension was granted to review a recently received “revised submission”.
Tiktok has also filed a legal petition challenging the validity of Trump’s executive order, arguing that it was unlawful and violated the company’s constitutional rights.
Separately, Bytedance has succeeded in overturning restrictions from the US commerce department that would effectively have banned the use of the Tiktok app in the US.