讀後心得

TikTok's operations in the United States are facing legal threats and must completely separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or it will be banned. U.S. President Trump has extended the deadline to April 5, 2025, and stated that a sale agreement is imminent. Possible buyers include Oracle and Blackstone, along with other bidders such as Amazon. However, there are still concerns regarding the ownership of the core algorithm, which may affect the progress of the transaction. Although Trump has previously supported the ban, he has recently shifted to defend TikTok, believing that it can attract young voters.

The short video platform TikTok is just hours away from the deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer and avoid being banned in the United States. The popular video-sharing app has over 170 million users in the U.S. and is facing a legal threat. This law, passed last year with overwhelming support, requires TikTok to completely separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or it will be banned from operating in the U.S. The President has extended this deadline to midnight on April 5, 2025 (04:00 GMT on April 5).

On Thursday, the President told reporters aboard Air Force One that his administration is "very close" to reaching a sale agreement for TikTok and mentioned "multiple investors" involved, but did not provide specific details.

In potential transactions, the President hinted that if the Chinese government agrees to sell TikTok, he might consider reducing tariffs on China. He stated, "As long as they give us some benefits, like TikTok." These tariffs have become an important bargaining chip in negotiations. Currently, the U.S. imposes a cumulative tax rate of up to 54% on imported goods from China.

So far, TikTok has not responded to this. Previously, the Vice President stated that the decision to force a sale of TikTok to an American buyer would be made before the weekend, and that progress is going well.

Due to national security concerns and widespread worries about TikTok being controlled by the Chinese government, the TikTok ban took effect on January 19, and in the final hours before the ban, TikTok was briefly removed from U.S. app stores and paused its services. The ban was later extended by 75 days, and TikTok resumed services for existing users.

Currently, the most likely solution is for ByteDance's American investors to transfer their stakes to a new, independent global TikTok company while bringing in more U.S. investors to reduce the Chinese ownership percentage. TikTok's data in the U.S. is already hosted on Oracle's servers, and the chairman of Oracle is a long-time ally of the President.

In addition to Oracle, there are other potential bidders, including Amazon, the real estate mogul's “People's Bid for TikTok” initiative, and some AI startups and joint ventures with YouTube influencers.

However, there are still many uncertainties regarding the ownership of TikTok's core algorithms, which may violate the spirit of the law. Although the President had supported banning TikTok during his term, he has recently changed his stance, believing that TikTok is advantageous for his re-election in 2024.