Sale of TikTok's US operations not clear, warns Senator Markey

Democratic Senator Ed Markey on Monday called on President Donald Trump to clarify key details of his plan to sell off most of TikTok's U.S. operations.

Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 25 stating that the plan to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to a consortium of American and global investors meets the security requirements set by the 2024 law.

He gave the owners 120 days to complete the transaction. In doing so, it also postponed until January 20 the application of the ban on the app, which is used by 170 million Americans, unless the Chinese company ByteDance sells it.

Markey points out that the White House did not answer several important questions. The senator questions whether Beijing actually approved the deal and wonders how the TikTok algorithm will work in the US and the rest of the world.

"Congress and the American people need to understand the terms and status of this alleged agreement," Markey wrote to Trump.

Republican Congressman John Moolenaar warned back in October that a licensing agreement allowing the TikTok algorithm to be used in the sale of US assets could "raise serious concerns".

(reuters, sie)