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TikTok is looking to sell by the end of next month in order to avoid a complete ban in the United States. The app is currently unavailable for download after being deemed a security risk due to the company’s owner being based in China.
And while progress has been made towards a deal, it now looks like China will not be approving a potential sale of the app to Oracle and Walmart.
“From the information provided by the US, the deal was unfair,” an editorial on state media website Global Times read “It caters to the unreasonable demands of Washington. It’s hard for us to believe that Beijing will approve such an agreement.
“It is clear that these [terms] extensively show Washington’s bullying style and hooligan logic. China, also a major country, will not yield to US intimidation and will not accept an unequal treaty that targets Chinese companies.”
There is no word on what kind of resolution can be had.
TikTok is based in Beijing and has been deemed a national security risk. It has been downloaded over 110 million times in the United States.
The company, however, claims that its servers are based out of China and that they are committed to transparency for its users. The app is also not available within China.
“At TikTok, we take these issues incredibly seriously as well. We are committed to transparency and accountability in how we support our TikTok users in the US and around the world,” the statement from TikTok read. “TikTok does not remove content based on sensitivities related to China. We have never been asked by the Chinese government to remove any content and we would not do so if asked. Period.”
TikTok was first launched in 2017 and is available for download on iOS and Android devices. Earlier this year, TikTok hit one billion downloads globally with the app available in over 150 markets and 75 languages.
