According to Bloomberg's report on August 11th, the Trump administration has lifted restrictions on the use of TikTok on federal government devices. The reason is that TikTok's operations in the United States no longer pose a 'national security threat' after restructuring.
A memo released by the White House Management and Budget Office on Monday revoked an order from 2023. That order had prohibited the use of TikTok on government devices, citing concerns about the Chinese ownership of TikTok at the time, which was considered a security risk.
Before the release of this memo, the US Department of Justice issued a written opinion last month, determining that TikTok no longer meets the definition of a “regulated application” as defined by a law passed in 2022. This law previously prohibited the use of TikTok on federal platforms.
In January this year, TikTok announced the establishment of TikTok US Data Security Joint Venture LLC. This joint venture will be responsible for data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software support for TikTok in the United States.
According to previous media reports, ByteDance will continue to own the intellectual property rights of the TikTok algorithm and grant it to the joint venture company for use. The announcement also states that TikTok’s US subsidiary will be responsible for commercial activities such as e-commerce, advertising, and marketing, as well as the integration of TikTok’s global products. It is understood that this company is wholly owned by ByteDance.
The above company’s business arrangements mean that the TikTok US plan has been officially launched, allowing more than 200 million US users to continue using TikTok. Additionally, judging from the company structure and business division described in the announcement, the TikTok US plan is very similar to Apple’s operation method of “Yun Shang Guizhou” in China.
In September last year, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated regarding the TikTok issue that China's position on TikTok is clear. The Chinese government respects the wishes of companies and welcomes them to conduct commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules, aiming to reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and maintain a balance of interests. It is hoped that the United States will provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the United States.
