Beijing: ByteDance, the company that runs the small video-based app TikTok, has applied for a technology export license in China to complete the deal required to maintain operations in the US. The company informed us about this on Thursday. The US has described TikTalk as a security threat, saying that the company can hand over information of US users to the Chinese government.
The US government imposed a ban on Tittock citing this. US President Donald Tran had said that TickTalk would have to strike a deal with an American company to continue operating in the US. As part of this, BitDance is setting up a new entity in the US, TickTock Global, in which it is proposed to sell a 20 percent stake to Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc. Trump said last week that he could approve a deal to sell Ticketock Global’s stake to Oracle and Walmart.
However, Trump said that Oracle should have full control over the deal. Bytdance said in a statement that it applied to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce for a technology export license and is awaiting a reply. The company did not provide any other details in this one-line statement.
Chinese officials have not yet indicated whether they will agree to transfer the technology. But government newspapers described the proposed agreement this week as bullying and coercion and criticized it. “China has no reason to approve such a deal, which is wrong and unfair,” the China Daily said on Wednesday.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that China will take all necessary steps to protect the interests of its companies. However, the ministry did not say what steps would be taken regarding the future of TickTock in the US.
