U.S. not extending TikTok divestiture deadline, but talks will continue

A Treasury Department representative said late on Friday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) “is engaging with ByteDance to complete the divestment and other steps necessary to resolve the national security risks”, Reuters reports. 

Last week, CFIUS granted TikTok parent ByteDance a one-week extension until Friday over the order to shed TikTok’s U.S. assets.

President Donald Trump’s August order gave the Justice Department the power to enforce the divestiture order once the deadline expired, but it is unclear when or how the government may seek to compel divestiture.

Trump was said to have personally made the decision not to approve any additional extensions at a meeting of senior U.S. officials, according to a person briefed on the meeting. The government had previously issued a 15-day and seven-day extension of the initial 90-day deadline, which was Nov. 12, in Trump’s order.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the White House did not comment. TikTok declined to comment.

The Trump administration contends TikTok poses national security concerns as the personal data of U.S. users could be obtained by China’s government. TikTok, which has over 100 million U.S. users, denies the allegation.

Under pressure from the U.S. government, ByteDance has been in talks for months to finalize a deal with Walmart Inc and Oracle Corp to shift TikTok’s U.S. assets into a new entity aimed to satisfy the divestiture order.

ByteDance made a new proposal aimed at addressing the U.S. government’s concerns, Reuters reported last week.

News.Az 

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