Court documents reveal intense negotiations between TikTok and the US government, shedding light on the battle to prevent a US ban. The social media giant, owned by China-based parent company ByteDance, faced scrutiny over data protection and national security concerns. TikTok’s letter to the US justice department accused the Biden administration of “political demagoguery.” The ensuing legal battle is poised to be a landmark event in tech and internet history.
The negotiations unfolded between TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States from January 2021 to August 2022. A 90-page draft security agreement emerged from these talks, aiming to bolster safeguards around US user data. Notably, TikTok proposed a controversial “kill switch” provision. If the platform violated the agreement, the committee could suspend it at its discretion.
However, substantive negotiations ceased after TikTok submitted the draft agreement in August 2022. The committee’s response remains pending, while the US justice department stands by the recently enacted legislation. The law compels ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets by January, driven by concerns that user data could be shared with the Chinese government. TikTok denies such data sharing and views the legislation as an affront to free speech and constitutional rights1. The battle continues, with the fate of TikTok hanging in the balance2.
SOURCE: Ref Image from Post Register
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