Back in January, we were terrified at the thought of a TikTok ban throughout the continent. However, it received a 75-day extension at the last minute. Now that time has passed, and it appears that TikTok is still going nowhere, since it received another 75-day extension, delaying its prohibition.
The app was to shut down its services on January 19th on account of concerns over user privacy and national security. This is due to the Chinese origin of TikTok‘s parent company, ByteDance. But the Trump administration offered an extended period for TikTok to find a US buyer.
There were speculations about Amazon making an offer, but the transaction did not go through. Seeing the situation, the administration issued an order extending the deadline for an additional 75 days. Because the company has yet to find a buyer, this is unlikely to be the final extension we see this year.
ByteDance also recently publicly acknowledged that they are in talks with the U.S. government to negotiate TikTok’s future in the country. What’s interesting here is the statement, “There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law“.
This leads us to suspect that the government may allow ByteDance to continue operating in the United States if specific national security policy modifications are implemented. Having said that, I believe we can all agree that TikTok is far too popular in the region to be banned anytime soon. Even users do not appear to be as anxious about the app’s future as they were in January.
What are your thoughts on the topic? Are you scared about the TikTok ban, or you agree that the extension will keep it running? Share your thoughts and start a conversation in the comments below.
