It is now the law of the land: TikTok must either be in the hands of the natives or exit America. Yes, “In a landmark decision with profound implications for the tech industry, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill mandating ByteDance, the parent company of popular social media platform TikTok, to divest its ownership within 270 days or risk losing access to the lucrative U.S. market…. This legislative initiative…has been signed into law by President Joe Biden.”
I posit that ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, will not sell, but after some legal challenges, will count its losses and exit the United States. Why? China will not allow it to ship the AI to the Americans – and without the AI, the ingredients of the soup which make TikTok amazing will not be complete. The worst-case scenario is to ship the users with the trademark while the AI code remains with the company in China. That will mark the valuation of TikTok down by more than 70%.
For companies like Temu, Shein and other Chinese online companies operating in the US this is the moment of truth! Geopolitics is now the risk vector.
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We will see how China responds…Apple and Microsoft could be at the crosshairs here. But that will come after 270 days!
The bill classifies TikTok as a “foreign adversary controlled application,” effectively compelling ByteDance to initiate the sale of the platform to a non-Chinese entity within the prescribed timeframe. President Biden retains the prerogative to extend the divestiture deadline by up to 90 days if significant progress toward a sale is underway.
However, TikTok could retain its foothold in the U.S. market if the president determines that the divestiture would sufficiently mitigate concerns related to foreign control. The bill also extends its purview to cover other applications designated as being controlled by foreign adversaries, reflecting broader apprehensions regarding national security vulnerabilities inherent in the digital landscape.
It is now the law of the land: TikTok must either be in the hands of the natives or exit America. Yes, “In a landmark decision with profound implications for the tech industry, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill mandating ByteDance, the parent company of popular social media… pic.twitter.com/csrbivuFP7
— Ndubuisi Ekekwe (@ndekekwe) April 25, 2024
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China banned Whatsapp, even Apple has removed Whatsapp and Instagram apps from its store in China. It seems like it’s only when the US does it that it becomes a headline news, something CCP does for fun.
The mutual suspicions have reached advanced stage, any technology or platform you don’t like from the other side, just put it inside the ‘national security’ bracket; and it’s hard to win a debate against anything included there.
All these US tech behemoths that went to China to make plenty money will start returning empty-handed, once China is done with copying and replicating the same thing at lower prices, you pack your bags and go home. The Americans are smart, and the Chinese are smarter.
Game on.