ByteDance now has until December 4 to divest its operations in the United States (US), after an earlier deadline was extended by a week, CNN reported. This essentially means that ByteDance will have to finalise a deal for TikTok with an American company by the deadline, in order to avoid a ban on the popular short video app. ByteDance was granted the extension as the US’ Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), is currently reviewing a revised submission made by the company, the report said. This is the second such extension offered to the company, after a previous deadline of November 12 was shifted to November 27. Earlier in the month, ByteDance had asked a Federal Court of Appeals to revoke the Trump administration’s divestment order against the company. Key background: On August 6, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning US transactions with Bytedance over national security concerns, and the order was to initially come into effect on September 20. However, on September 19, a tentative deal was signed between TikTok, Oracle and Walmart, which will result in the creation of a new entity called TikTok Global, wherein Oracle and Walmart will own a 20% stake together. In response to the August 6 executive order, Tiktok filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the executive order was a “gross misappropriation” of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and a “pretext for furthering the President’s broader campaign of anti-China rhetoric in the run-up to the…
