Reports: TikTok has code disconnected, Washington has rejected "kill switch"
While TikTok is defending itself in court against the US ban, a sale is reportedly being prepared after all. Washington has turned down an unusual offer.
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TikTok has denied a report that the video app is working intensively on outsourcing the source code for the US market. The news agency had reported this, citing anonymous sources. According to the report, hundreds of employees in the US and China had already begun "separating millions of lines of code" before the ban law was passed in the US. The aim was to cut every connection between the Chinese offshoot of the app and TikTok, and more than a year of work was estimated for the work. TikTok has described the report as"misleading and factually incorrect", while Reuters says it stands by its account.
US government has rejected far-reaching deal
By separating the source code, TikTok could be preparing to sell the app, but owner ByteDance has so far categorically ruled this out. At the same time, it makes clear what a gigantic effort such a step would mean in purely technical terms. In April, a law came into force in the USA that sets a deadline for TikTok to purchase its US business. If this does not take place within 270 days, US President Joe Biden can order a blockade for the USA. TikTok is currently defending itself legally against the plan and speaks of an unlawful interference with the right to free speech guaranteed by the constitution.
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As part of the proceedings against the ban, TikTok has also referred to an offer made to the US government almost two years ago. As the Washington Post summarizes, ByteDance would have given Washington unusually far-reaching opportunities to influence US business. The deal would have even given the US government a kind of "kill switch" that could have shut down the popular video app completely in the United States. It should also be able to determine who manages the US business and who TikTok hires in the US. All data was to be hosted by Oracle, where the source code was also to be checked for the US government. It is not known why the US government rejected this.
The revelation by Reuters now indicates that TikTok is very well-prepared for the fact that the prohibition law cannot be overturned. At the same time, the information on the far-reaching offer to the US government makes it clear how far the Chinese operator was prepared to go to take the wind out of the sails of criticism. According to the information, some of the measures are still being implemented, for example the source code is being checked at Oracle – even if possible findings cannot be reported to anyone. According to the Washington Post, the fact that the deal was nevertheless rejected could be since the responsibility for the search for security risks would then have rested with the USA. Finding them would have remained extremely difficult.
(mho)
