Software
ByteDance is reported to have signed an deal to sell TikTok American operations
TikTok parent company ByteDance allegedly offered to sell its American activities to keep the Trump administration from blocking it in the US, according to Reuters.
It wasn't clear on Saturday whether the deal would affect Microsoft, or how it would stave off the injunction, but Reuters reported that Microsoft would be in charge of securing US customer data and that the agreement would allow another American firm to take over TikTok in the US.
The administration has been trying to outlaw the video-sharing software for a few weeks; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on July 7 that the outlaw was something we're looking at.
President Trump said Friday, We 're barring them from the United States, but he didn't include any details other than what he intended to do as early as Saturday.
TikTok US General Manager Vanessa Pappas said in a video on Saturday that we 're not intending to go anywhere" and that the organization is "here for the long term.
TikTok is a division of Beijing-based ByteDance and has been scrutinized for its surveillance policies and alleged links to the Chinese government. Pompeo likened TikTok to Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese firms that the Trump administration has described as a danger to US national security.
Last month, TikTok users and K-pop fans urged followers to purchase tickets to President Trump 's rally in Tulsa but not to turn up in an effort to leave the rally seats vacant. The rally's attendance was smaller than the Trump campaign had predicted.
Reports on Friday reported that Trump's administration would theoretically compel TikTok 's Chinese owner to sell him, and several media sources indicated that Microsoft was in early negotiations to purchase the service.
US law provides no basis for blocking applications, even as China's Great Firewall does.
