President Trump announced on Monday that Chinese-owned TikTok would “close down” in the United States by Sept. 15 unless Microsoft or another U.S. company works out a deal approved by his administration to buy the video-sharing social media platform.
Trump recounted to reporters his “great conversation” with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, claiming he said, “Look, it can’t be controlled, for security reasons, by China. Too big, too invasive, and it can’t be. And here’s the deal, I don’t mind if, whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else, a big company — a secure company, a very American company — buys it.” Trump noted that Microsoft was looking to buy what he called roughly 30% of TikTok’s operations, which the president said could be complicated due to the naming rights for TikTok if it is split and owned by two different companies.
Microsoft said Sunday night that the U.S. company would continue exploring the purchase of TikTok’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and, if the purchase happens, it vowed to “ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States.”
Trump said he told Microsoft’s CEO that “he can go ahead and he can try,” but “I set a date of around Sept. 15, at which point it’s going to be out of business in the United States.”
“It’s a great asset,” Trump said. “But it’s not a great asset in the United States unless they have the approval of the United States. So, it will close down on Sept. 15 unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal, an appropriate deal, so the Treasury of the United States gets a lot of money. A lot of money, OK?”
Trump had signaled his move on Air Force One on Friday, telling reporters, “As far as TikTok is considered, we’re banning them from the United States. … Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or [emergency economic powers].”
TikTok is a video-sharing social networking app owned by Chinese internet technology company ByteDance, which is based in Beijing. ByteDance bought Musical.ly, a similar video app, for almost $1 billion back in 2017, and Musical.ly and TikTok merged in 2018.
ByteDance and TikTok have repeatedly claimed that they have not and would never turn over TikTok user data to the Chinese government, but national security experts point to China’s own 2017 national intelligence law, which requires all Chinese companies to assist Chinese intelligence services when asked — and to keep it secret.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, told ABC News on Sunday that “the entire committee agrees that TikTok cannot stay in the current format because it risks sending back information on a hundred million Americans.” He said that “the president can either force a sale, or he can block the app” using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday that Trump “will take action in the coming days with respect to a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party.” Pompeo said that “these Chinese software companies doing business in the United States … are feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party, their national security apparatus.”
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to ban federal employees from using TikTok, and the Senate will likely vote on a similar measure soon. Joe Biden’s campaign told staff to delete TikTok from their phones.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote in October to then-Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire “to express our concerns about TikTok … and the national security risks posed by its growing use in the United States.”
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida sent a letter to Mnuchin the same month to “express concern with regard to Chinese influence operations” tied to TikTok, and he argued that Chinese-owned apps “are increasingly being used to censor content” such as Tiananmen Square, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other issues. Rubio called for CFIUS to conduct a national security investigation, and it opened a review in late 2019.
The committee launched an investigation into Beijing Kunlun Tech’s acquisition of the LGBT dating app Grindr over concerns about China’s possible exploitation of the sensitive personal information, including HIV status, and a subsequent national security agreement forced the Chinese company to divest from Grindr.
TikTok has been downloaded more than 2 billion times worldwide through Apple’s App Store and Google Play as of April, according to the Sensor Tower data website, and there are tens of millions of users in the U.S.
India banned almost 60 Chinese cellphone apps including TikTok in late June, and there are calls from lawmakers in Australia and Japan for TikTok to be banned, too.
The Pentagon banned service members from using TikTok in late 2019. An Army spokesperson said it “identifies TikTok as having potential security risks associated with its use,” while a U.S. Fleet Cyber Command spokesperson noted the ban followed “cybersecurity threat assessments.” A Pentagon spokesperson called for uninstalling the app so that “unwanted actors” don’t gain access to the personal data.
The Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and State Department also banned TikTok on government devices.
Vanessa Pappas, TikTok’s general manager in the U.S., vowed over the weekend that “we’re not going anywhere.” TikTok recently hired dozens of lobbyists in the U.S. to defend the Chinese platform.
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report in June detailing how China is illicitly targeting U.S. communications the same way it has targeted education, research, and personal data.
The Justice Department and U.S. intelligence agencies believe Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies are working hand in hand with the Chinese Communist Party.
