ByteDance might sell Indian TikTok assets

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ByteDance is said to be in talks to sell its India operations of TikTok in a bid to rival unicorn Glance. According to a new report, the company is in discussions with Japan’s SoftBank Group conglomerate. As per the sources, the talks are private as well as early and complex. For the unaware, SoftBank is a backer of Glance’s parent InMobi Pte as well as TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance.

As per a new report from Bloomberg, ByteDance is in talks with SoftBank conglomerate to sell its TikTok India assets. The talks involve four sides including SoftBank, ByteDance, Glance, and the Indian authorities, which will decide the fate of the deal. The report goes on to say that SoftBank has been attempting to salvage TikTok’s India assets. Further, it has been hunting for local partners.

If the talks progress, it will require the Indian government to authorise the sale. It is likely to insist that user data and technology of TikTok stay within the Indian borders. That’s because, India-China relationship hasn’t been very well lately. The relations between New Delhi and Beijing remain strained. The sources said that India will make no allowances for China-based technology companies. Furthermore, any sale of TikTok could need approval from Chinese authorities.

TikTok’s potential partner, Bangalore-headquartered Glance Digital Experience is a mobile content platform. Glance has a TikTok competitor named Roposo, which has seen a massive growth after the TikTok ban in India.

In June last year, The Indian government’s Ministry of Information Technology banned a total of 59 Chinese apps in the country, which also included the famous short-video sharing app TikTok. It also banned the likes of CamScanner, Shareit, Mobile Legends, UC Browser, and Weibo. Later, PUBG Mobile suffered the same fate. The press release claimed that these apps pose a threat to national security and public order, and are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India’.

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It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

ByteDance might sell Indian TikTok assets

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

ByteDance is said to be in talks to sell its India operations of TikTok in a bid to rival unicorn Glance. According to a new report, the company is in discussions with Japan’s SoftBank Group conglomerate. As per the sources, the talks are private as well as early and complex. For the unaware, SoftBank is a backer of Glance’s parent InMobi Pte as well as TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance.

As per a new report from Bloomberg, ByteDance is in talks with SoftBank conglomerate to sell its TikTok India assets. The talks involve four sides including SoftBank, ByteDance, Glance, and the Indian authorities, which will decide the fate of the deal. The report goes on to say that SoftBank has been attempting to salvage TikTok’s India assets. Further, it has been hunting for local partners.

If the talks progress, it will require the Indian government to authorise the sale. It is likely to insist that user data and technology of TikTok stay within the Indian borders. That’s because, India-China relationship hasn’t been very well lately. The relations between New Delhi and Beijing remain strained. The sources said that India will make no allowances for China-based technology companies. Furthermore, any sale of TikTok could need approval from Chinese authorities.

TikTok’s potential partner, Bangalore-headquartered Glance Digital Experience is a mobile content platform. Glance has a TikTok competitor named Roposo, which has seen a massive growth after the TikTok ban in India.

In June last year, The Indian government’s Ministry of Information Technology banned a total of 59 Chinese apps in the country, which also included the famous short-video sharing app TikTok. It also banned the likes of CamScanner, Shareit, Mobile Legends, UC Browser, and Weibo. Later, PUBG Mobile suffered the same fate. The press release claimed that these apps pose a threat to national security and public order, and are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India’.

The post ByteDance might sell Indian TikTok assets appeared first on Pocketnow.

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TikTok files lawsuit against Trump administration over executive order that threatens US ban

Just as previously reported (and expected), TikTok has sued the Trump administration over an executive order that threatens to ban the app in the country until its US operations are acquired by an American company. TikTok claims that the executive order seeks to overstep the rights of its community “without any evidence to justify such an extreme action, and without any due process.”

“We do not take suing the government lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees,” the company added. TikTok argues that the executive order aims to ban the app over ‘speculative possibility’ that it can be manipulated by the Chinese government, something that the app’s data storage and monitoring infrastructure doesn’t allow.

The ByteDance-owned company argues that the executive order relies on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), but the activities that the government order targets do not fall under the “an unusual and extraordinary threat” class covered by the act. TikTok also mentions that banning the app without any notice or chance to be heard is also a violation of the Fifth Amendment, and that the order did not provide any hard evidence and neither did it justify such a harsh punitive action.

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New executive order gives ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok

It seems that President Donald Trump is giving more time to ByteDance to close a possible sell of the US TikTok business. The president’s new executive order provides the company with 90 days, compared to the first period granted that would’ve expired on September 20. Now the company has until November 12 to close any possible operation.

President Trump also mentions that there’s credible evidence that ByteDance may take actions that threatens to impair the national security of the United States. A separate executive order was released last week, where Trump required all transactions between US companies and ByteDance to be terminated in 45 days, so this may end up being good news for TikTok. It gets more time to sell its US operations to a US company, such as Microsoft or Twitter.

The president has also told ByteDance to destroy all TikTok data associated with its user in the United States. Then it would have to inform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States upon completing the task. However, the app may still be planning on using legal means to block Trump’s orders since they claim that they show no adherence to the law.

Source 9to5Mac

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TikTok is reportedly suing Trump administration over executive order threatening a ban

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week that bans all transactions with TikTok’s owner ByteDance after September 20, unless the company’s US operations are sold to an American company. Now, TikTok is reportedly planning to retaliate with a lawsuit against Trump administration to challenge the executive order.

As per NPR, TikTok is filing a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, arguing that “President Trump’s far-reaching action is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company a chance to respond.” TikTok claims that the national security justification for issuing the executive order that threatens to ban the popular social media app in the US is baseless.

“It’s based on pure speculation and conjecture. The order has no findings of fact, just reiterates rhetoric about China that has been kicking around”, a source privy to the matter was quoted as saying by NPR. Reacting to the executive order, TikTok had earlier mentioned in a statement that it might take legal recourse to challenge it in court.

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TikTok expresses shock in statement responding to President Trump’s executive order

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any transactions with TikTok’s parent company – ByteDance – after September 20 if the app’s US operations are not sold to an American company. Now, TikTok has issued an official statement in which the social media sensation has expressed shock over the order.

“We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses,” TikTok said.

In its statement, the company hinted that it will take legal recourse to deal with the situation. TikTok also reiterated that the company does not share any user data with China, nor does it censor content due to pressure from the communist government, something US authorities have long raised doubts about.

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Trump executive order blocks transactions with Bytedance if TikTok is not sold within 45 days

In yet another major blow for TikTok, US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that bans all transactions with TikTok’s parent company – ByteDance – within 45 days if the social media sensation’s US operations are not sold to a US-based company. The countdown goes into effect today, and starting September 20, any US entity will be prohibited from doing transactions with ByteDance if the US operations of TikTok are not sold to an American company.

Trump’s executive order prohibits “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd. (a.k.a. Zìjié Tiàodòng), Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, in which any such company has any interest.” Just a few days ago, Trump gave ByteDance a September 15 deadline to either sell TikTok’s US operations to a US-based company or risk getting shut down in the US.

The executive order claims that TikTok stores “vast swaths of information from its users” that might “allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information”, and also targets the content censorship and the app’s potential to be used for disinformation campaigns. As for parties in the viral social media app, Microsoft has confirmed that it is in talks to buy TikTok’s US operations and aims to conclude the discussions by September 15.

Source: White House

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Pocketnow Daily: Google Pixel 4a is EVERYWHERE and UGLY?! (video)

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On today’s Pocketnow Daily, we talk about the many leaks of the Google Pixel 4a, more delayed devices because of COVID-19 and more

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