TikTok's parent company has 90 days to sell or spin US assets, says Trump's latest order

Amid soaring US-China tensions, US President Donald Trump has ordered China’s ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to either sell or spin off its American branch within 90 days. In an order released on August 14, Trump has cited “credible evidence” for the possibility of Bytedance to take action that in turns jeopardises the national security of the United States. The latest executive order is followed by an investigation of ByteDance’s acquisition Musical.ly which was introduced in America in 2017 and then merged with TikTok. 

The <>order states that "Immediately upon divestment, ByteDance shall certify in writing to [the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] that all steps necessary to fully and permanently effectuate the actions required ... have been completed."

This comes after Trump signed a separate executive order banning American transactions with WeChat and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance in 45 days. The orders came after Trump administration said earlier this month that it is gearing up to purge the “untrusted” Chinese apps from America’s digital networks and called Chinese-owned video-sharing social networking service and messenger app as “significant threats”.  Trump on August 13 reportedly said that any deal to sell Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to an American company must substantially benefit the nation and provide ‘total security’.

Read - TikTok Deal Must Benefit US And Provide Total Security, Says Donald Trump

Read - TikTok And Its Employees Prepare To Fight Trump Over App Ban

TikTok was 'shocked', China calls it 'manipulation'

TikTok, in a reported statement, said that it was ‘shocked’ by the recent developments by the US government tightening its grip on the company and China accused Washington of “political manipulation”. The company noted that the Fifth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution safeguard life, liberty and property from arbitrary government action lacking ‘due process of law’. While Microsoft is in talks to buy parts of TikTok, in a potential sale that’s being forced under Trump’s threat ban, TikTok reportedly said that it spent nearly a year to engage in ‘good faith’ with the US government to address its concerns. 

The company said, “What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses”. 

Read - Facebook, Snap Mull Dubsmash Acquisition As Microsoft Plans To Buy TikTok

Read - TikTok's Parent ByteDance In Talks With Reliance For Backing App In India: Reports