ByteDance may not need to sell TikTok to an American company after all. That claim The Wall Street Journal and CNBC. It could also be that TikTok is being reorganized and that an American company as a partner oversees data security.
Those talks about a structure with a US partner were going on before US President Donald Trump said TikTok would fall into US hands. reports CNBC. That new structure would be necessary because of the concerns of CFIUS, the US government organization for foreign investment. Working with a partner from the home country is also mandatory in China.
In addition to the other structure, a sale is still not ruled out, writes The Wall Street Journal. President Trump announced on August 14 that TikTok had 90 days left to sell or spin-off its US division. The US government may be concerned about the possibility of user data being passed on to the Chinese government. However, the order could also be motivated by the trade war in which the two countries are involved.
At the same time, the demand to divest TikTok is being complied with. Parent company ByteDance is in advanced talks with Microsoft about an acquisition, and Twitter, Oracle and Alphabet are rumored to have also been interested.