Beijing Says Any TikTok Sale Should Abide by Chinese Law

Under Chinese law, TikTok’s key technologies, including its algorithm, are subject to export control.

The TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen that displays a TikTok home page, in Boston, Mass., on March 18, 2023. Michael Dwyer/AP Photo

Beijing stated on Jan. 20 that any acquisition of TikTok should be done according to “China’s laws and regulations” after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump proposed a joint venture model to keep the app running in the United States.

TikTok went dark for hours on Jan. 19 as a ban on the app took effect. The social media app was banned from the United States because its parent company, China-based ByteDance, is subject to the control of the Chinese communist regime, a foreign adversary of the United States, and had not divested from California-based TikTok Inc. before a deadline imposed by a congressional act.

However, TikTok restored service later on Jan. 19, saying a statement from then-President-elect Trump calling for companies to support the app had provided “the necessary clarity and assurance” that the company could continue to operate.

In a Truth Social post on Jan. 19, Trump said he would issue an executive order on Jan. 20 following his inauguration to delay the ban and find another solution.

Two Republican senators have warned app store operators that they should keep following the law, saying that there was “no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date.”

Trump also proposed that the United States acquire a 50 percent ownership position in a joint venture to “save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to [stay] up.”

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Jan. 19 that the incoming administration was looking for an option to save the app while protecting Americans’ data and protecting them from foreign influence.

Speaking from Beijing on Jan. 20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters that companies should be allowed to make their own decisions on their operations and acquisitions.

“If it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed,” she said.

Mao also denied that TikTok has harmed U.S. national security.

TikTok, a spinoff of Chinese social media platform Douyin, uses a powerful algorithm to recommend videos and create personalized content feeds.

Since the app was launched in the United States in 2017, it has become immensely popular among young people, amassing more than 170 million users in the country and more than a billion worldwide.

Security experts, politicians, and government agencies have long warned that the Chinese regime can access the vast amount of data collected by TikTok and use the app’s algorithm to shape U.S. culture and public opinion.

The Biden administration banned TikTok under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gave ByteDance 270 days to divest from TikTok or have the app banned in the United States.

TikTok has challenged the ban, arguing that it violates the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban on Jan. 17.

The ban did not violate TikTok’s and its users’ First Amendment rights because while the app “offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community, Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” the judgment states.

The U.S. government’s attempts to ban TikTok or to force a divesture began in August 2020 during Trump’s first presidency. He issued two executive orders to that effect, which TikTok has challenged in court.

Days after Trump’s executive actions, Beijing updated its export restrictions to include technologies that would affect ByteDance, including artificial intelligence interactive interface technology and personalized information-push service based on data analysis.

In March 2023, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said Beijing would “firmly oppose” any forced sale of TikTok and that any forced sale of or divestitures from TikTok “involve technology export issues” and must abide by China’s laws and regulations.

On Jan. 19, Elon Musk, head of the new Department of Government Efficiency and the owner of X, wrote on the social media platform that “something needs to change” because “the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but [X] is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced.”

ByteDance didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.