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Ex-Trump aide Steve Mnuchin intends to acquire TikTok from ByteDance, causing China's anger over 'Thief's Rationality'
Steve Mnuchin's proposal is not the initial effort to shift TikTok's reign to American firms. In 2020, the then-President Trump backed a suggested agreement that included Oracle and Walmart to establish a US-centric business that would possess TikTok.
Steve Mnuchin, who previously served as the US Treasury Secretary and was a close associate of ex-US President Donald Trump, has announced his plans to gather investors to buy TikTok from its parent company ByteDane, based in China.
This news comes after the US House of Representatives approved a bill that seeks to prohibit the app in the US and remove it from all app stores unless ByteDance relinquishes its US operations.
The House of Representatives has been endeavoring to regulate TikTok and its ties with ByteDance, due to worries about national security. Nonetheless, the US Senate has not yet arranged to vote on this legislation.
In the meantime, President Joe Biden has indicated his willingness to approve the bill if it makes its way to him, although its prospects in the Senate are still unclear.
While appearing on the CNBC's financial show Squawk Box, Mnuchin, who was a part of Donald Trump's administration from 2017 to 2021, expressed his plans for TikTok.
Mnuchin underscored the necessity for the US to possess TikTok in order to continue accessing the vast amount of data it currently has on American users. He further explained that if the roles were reversed, and an American company closely linked to the US government was amassing enormous quantities of data as TikTok does, it wouldn't be allowed to operate in China.
The specifics of Mnuchin's intentions, such as who might invest, are still unclear. Despite this, it's not the first time a move has been made to shift TikTok's ownership to US bodies. In 2020, former President Trump endorsed a potential agreement between Oracle and Walmart to establish a US-centric business.
American lawmakers have been worried for a while about TikTok's large number of users, apprehensive about the data safety issues because the platform is owned by China. The recent vote in the House on the possibility of banning TikTok was strongly supported, tallying 352 votes for and 65 against.
China labels it as "Bandit Reasoning, Unjust Oppression". Reacting to the decision of the House, Beijing denounced the US, blaming it for using a "bandit's reasoning" against TikTok. Chinese authorities asked Washington to stop unjustly oppressing overseas corporations.
Should the Senate pass the proposed legislation and it receives President Biden's signature to become law, ByteDance will be given a half-year period to transfer ownership of TikTok to a company not based in China. Failure to do so would result in TikTok being taken down from US application stores.
TikTok has embarked on Project Texas, a reshuffling initiative intended to protect American user data from Chinese interference, by collaborating with US firms such as Oracle. The platform has also ventured into online retail, yielding significant income.
The apprehension towards TikTok shared by both political parties highlights larger fears about China's sway in different industries. Regardless of partisan differences, Democrats and Republicans alike back actions to tackle these issues.
ByteDance has strongly resisted the proposed prohibition, stating that it would negatively impact small enterprises and interrupt its functioning. The main source of TikTok's income is advertising, however, its online shopping platform has seen substantial growth.
Meanwhile, ByteDance is urging its US users to contact their local representatives and senators to communicate the importance of TikTok for their businesses. They are being asked to highlight how the platform has turned into a source of income for some creators.
Meta's Instagram has risen to become the primary rival of TikTok in the US, by implementing comparable features to lure in users. In the previous year, Instagram outpaced TikTok to become the most frequently downloaded application worldwide.
Discussions are still ongoing, leaving TikTok's future in the US in a state of doubt. This situation has considerable consequences for both the technology sector and the country's security.
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