Trump Orders TikTok Parent Company to Divest U.S. Assets Over Security Fears
The Trump administration issues a 90-day order for ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations, citing national security risks. The directive comes from a federal investment committee reviewing the company's 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly.
President Trump orders ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell its U.S. assets within 90 days after the administration finds "credible evidence" of a national security threat. This directive follows a previous executive order that aims to effectively ban the popular video-sharing app by blocking U.S. transactions in 45 days. TikTok lawyers state they are preparing a lawsuit to challenge the legality of the initial ban.
The new order stems from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), a Treasury-led group that investigates foreign acquisitions for potential security risks. CFIUS conducts an exhaustive review of ByteDance's 2017 takeover of the American app Musical.ly, which ultimately transforms into TikTok. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin states the committee unanimously recommends this action to protect U.S. users from the exploitation of their personal data.
Legal experts note that this CFIUS order provides a stronger legal foundation for the administration's pressure campaign compared to the earlier executive order. Former NSA general counsel Stewart Baker explains that while the initial order relies on untested legal grounds, the CFIUS directive follows clear statutory procedures. This backup mechanism ensures the government can either force an American company to acquire TikTok or ban the app outright from the U.S. market.