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I don't get it. Since when does one need permission of USA President to make the deal? I mean sure he could block the app in states, but I figure microsoft co

I don't get it. Since when does one need permission of USA President to make the deal? I mean sure he could block the app in states, but I figure microsoft could still use it outside ?

JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> Since when does one need permission of USA President to make the deal? Since 1975 [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Foreign_Investment_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Foreign_Investm...
- scarface74 6y ago
  Notice that isn’t the President being able to act singlehandedly.
  - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
    CFIUS is a creature of executive action. And in 1988, the Congress passed a law saying “all foreign investments that might affect national security may be reviewed and if deemed to pose a threat to security, the President of the United States may block the investment” [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment
    - valuearb 6y ago
      So all Tok Tok has to do is not sell and it’s scot free?
      - Fjolsvith 6y ago
        What about advertising on TikTok?
        valuearb 6y ago
        The president can’t tell anyone where they can or cannot advertise.
  - mytailorisrich 6y ago
    I think the President can ban Tiktok by executive order on the ground of national security, in the same way he acted against Huawei. Only this time American business interests told him that there was money in Tiktok so that it would be profitable for them to get their hands on it instead of killing it outright. And so... They have made Bytedance "an offer they cannot refuse". From the Godfather to international geopolitics it's all the same. Edit: This will bring back very bad historical memories to the Chinese.
    - valuearb 6y ago
      This is the U.S. We have a constitution, and individual rights. The president can’t tell you what apps you can have on your phone.
      - scarface74 6y ago
        How has that whole checks and balances thing been working out lately?
      - mytailorisrich 6y ago
        He can take action by executive order at the very least to force a sale. He already used that power in the past so this is established.
        valuearb 6y ago
        Presidents don’t have the authority to force the sale of U.S. companies, let alone foreign companies.
      - coolspot 6y ago
        He can’t tell you what apps you are allowed to have on your phone directly, but he can blacklist a business for US businesses, so Apple and Google would be forced to remove the app from their stores. No easy sideloading on iOS, so if it is removed from the store you can’t have it on your iPhone.
- tzs 6y ago
  That seems to apply to foreign investment in the US. It is not obvious that it would apply to a foreign company selling its US operations to a US company. Maybe it depends on the form of payment--if the payment includes stock in the US company than maybe it counts as in investment?
- thesausageking 6y ago
  CFIUS doesn't apply here. It governs US companies selling ownership stakes to foreign entities (the FI is for "Foreign Investment"). For example when Lattice Semiconductor wanted to be acquired by a Chinese company and CFIUS blocked it. This is the opposite situation: TikTok is a foreign company that's considering a US company as an investor/acquirer.
  - carlosdp 6y ago
    Actually it does, the CFIUS has jurisdiction over any foreign company doing commerce in the US. Which is why it has oversight over ByteDance's acquisition of Musical.ly, both Chinese companies.
  - Natsu 6y ago
    There's also this: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1702 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1702
quonn 6y ago
Only the US part seems to be for sale.
wil421 6y ago
A very quick and easy google turns up the “Exon–Florio Amendment”. It was actually created because they were worried about Japanese investments in the 80s. The president can review foreign investments and determine if there is a nation security risk. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) does the reviews. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment
deleted 6y ago
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xenocyon 6y ago
It gets curioser and curioser: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/president-trump-might-be-easier-if-microsoft-buys-all-of-tiktok.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/president-trump-might-be-eas...

I don't get it. Since when does one need permission of USA President to make the deal? I mean sure he could block the app in states, but I figure microsoft could still use it outside ?

JumpCrisscross 6y ago

> Since when does one need permission of USA President to make the deal? Since 1975 [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Foreign_Investment_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Foreign_Investm...

scarface74 6y ago
Notice that isn’t the President being able to act singlehandedly.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  CFIUS is a creature of executive action. And in 1988, the Congress passed a law saying “all foreign investments that might affect national security may be reviewed and if deemed to pose a threat to security, the President of the United States may block the investment” [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment
  - valuearb 6y ago
    So all Tok Tok has to do is not sell and it’s scot free?
    - Fjolsvith 6y ago
      What about advertising on TikTok?
      - valuearb 6y ago
        The president can’t tell anyone where they can or cannot advertise.
- mytailorisrich 6y ago
  I think the President can ban Tiktok by executive order on the ground of national security, in the same way he acted against Huawei. Only this time American business interests told him that there was money in Tiktok so that it would be profitable for them to get their hands on it instead of killing it outright. And so... They have made Bytedance "an offer they cannot refuse". From the Godfather to international geopolitics it's all the same. Edit: This will bring back very bad historical memories to the Chinese.
  - valuearb 6y ago
    This is the U.S. We have a constitution, and individual rights. The president can’t tell you what apps you can have on your phone.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      How has that whole checks and balances thing been working out lately?
    - mytailorisrich 6y ago
      He can take action by executive order at the very least to force a sale. He already used that power in the past so this is established.
      - valuearb 6y ago
        Presidents don’t have the authority to force the sale of U.S. companies, let alone foreign companies.
    - coolspot 6y ago
      He can’t tell you what apps you are allowed to have on your phone directly, but he can blacklist a business for US businesses, so Apple and Google would be forced to remove the app from their stores. No easy sideloading on iOS, so if it is removed from the store you can’t have it on your iPhone.
tzs 6y ago
That seems to apply to foreign investment in the US. It is not obvious that it would apply to a foreign company selling its US operations to a US company. Maybe it depends on the form of payment--if the payment includes stock in the US company than maybe it counts as in investment?
thesausageking 6y ago
CFIUS doesn't apply here. It governs US companies selling ownership stakes to foreign entities (the FI is for "Foreign Investment"). For example when Lattice Semiconductor wanted to be acquired by a Chinese company and CFIUS blocked it. This is the opposite situation: TikTok is a foreign company that's considering a US company as an investor/acquirer.
- carlosdp 6y ago
  Actually it does, the CFIUS has jurisdiction over any foreign company doing commerce in the US. Which is why it has oversight over ByteDance's acquisition of Musical.ly, both Chinese companies.
- Natsu 6y ago
  There's also this: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1702 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1702

quonn 6y ago

Only the US part seems to be for sale.

wil421 6y ago

A very quick and easy google turns up the “Exon–Florio Amendment”. It was actually created because they were worried about Japanese investments in the 80s. The president can review foreign investments and determine if there is a nation security risk. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) does the reviews. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exon–Florio_Amendment

deleted 6y ago

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deleted 6y ago

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xenocyon 6y ago

It gets curioser and curioser: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/president-trump-might-be-easier-if-microsoft-buys-all-of-tiktok.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/president-trump-might-be-eas...