Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says, “Considering TikTok acquisition but not now”
TikTok logo./Reuters
“The beleaguered TikTok, facing forced expulsion from the U.S. market, has officially filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government. This is to halt the enforcement of the ‘TikTok Ban’ signed by President Joe Biden last month. According to the law, TikTok must divest its U.S. operations within a maximum of 360 days, and if it fails to do so, it will be completely expelled from the market.
On the 7th, in a 67-page filing submitted to the Washington D.C. court, TikTok claimed, “The bill will forcibly shut down TikTok on January 19, 2025, silencing 170 million Americans who use TikTok as a means of communication.” TikTok argues that the TikTok Ban violates the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. TikTok further opposed, stating, “The TikTok ban is clearly unconstitutional” and asserting that “forced divestiture is not commercially, technologically, or legally feasible.” TikTok demanded that the execution of this bill, created out of ‘speculative’ national security concerns, be halted.
Earlier, the U.S. Congress passed legislation through emergency consensus requiring TikTok to divest its U.S. operations within 270 days. This comes from security concerns that TikTok serves as a propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party and a means of personal data theft for Americans. According to this law, the President has the authority to extend the divestiture deadline by 90 days, but if the divestiture does not occur even after that, TikTok will completely disappear from various app stores in the U.S. Existing TikTok users can continue to use the app downloaded on their devices, but over time, without security updates, it may become increasingly difficult to use.
In the future, TikTok is expected to continue legal disputes over the survival of its U.S. operations for several months. TikTok is making arguments that the implementation of this bill harms small businesses that rely on TikTok for their livelihoods, in addition to challenging the bill’s unconstitutionality. The case is predicted to escalate to the Supreme Court. TikTok has previously evaded several banning crises by citing the First Amendment.
In the tech industry, it is speculated that TikTok’s divestiture will not be easy. With a price tag of billions of dollars and even the Chinese government outright opposing divestiture, it is clear that it won’t be a simple process. In an interview with BloombergTV on the 7th, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt briefly considered acquiring TikTok but stated that he is not currently considering it. He said, “TikTok is more similar to TV than social media,” and commented, “The U.S. government would be better off regulating it (like the broadcasting industry) rather than forcing a sale.”