Chinese social media giant TikTok selling off to an American company has been the talk of the town lately, but a recent report shows that there might be a new obstacle in the way.
China has implemented new rules regarding the export of AI technology. These rules prohibit exporting AI-based tech including text analysis, voice recognition, content suggestions, etc. without a license from the Chinese government. This would mean that TikTok parent company ByteDance will need a license before selling TikTok to a US company.
Chinese government officials are now saying that ByteDance should “seriously and cautiously” consider halting talks with American companies at this point. Not only that, but TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer also resigned last week six months into the job.
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order at the start of the month blocking all transactions with TikTok citing security risks. The President was looking to completely ban and remove the app from the country but was convinced to let an American company take control.
On August 14, the President gave ByteDance 90 days to sell or spin-off TikTok in the US or face a complete ban. There are several companies in talks for purchase including Microsoft, Twitter, Oracle, etc but Microsoft being the top contender so far.
