Washington (AFP)
Fifty days after the first presidential decree against it, and after many negotiations and diplomatic twists, TikTok has never been so close to the ax: the social network is supposed to disappear from application download platforms on Sunday evening in the United States .
Unless a judge intervenes, from Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (or 03:59 GMT Monday), current American users will be able to continue using the app, but no longer update, and new downloads will be impossible.
Donald Trump has accused for months the application, which belongs to the Chinese group ByteDance, of spying for the benefit of Beijing by collecting the data of its users - without proof.
In his decree of August 6, he called it a threat to "national security" and announced that it would be banned from transactions with companies in the United States unless it was sold to an American group.
On Thursday, a Washington court judge gave the government 24 hours to reject the ultimatum or explain its position.
But the Trump administration has not changed its mind, according to a document sent to justice on Friday.
As TikTok did not pass under the American flag as demanded by Donald Trump, the operating systems of Android (Google) and iOS (Apple) mobile devices will no longer be allowed to offer the app for download to States. -United.
Unless Judge Carl Nichols decides to intervene this weekend.
Thursday, the magistrate had evoked a hearing for this Sunday.
TikTok and ByteDance did not respond to requests from AFP immediately.
- Last chance -
TikTok had requested this week an urgent appeal to the federal court in Washington, ensuring that such a ban would not be in accordance with the Constitution of the country.
The platform also argued that blocking downloads would cause it irreparable damage, as it gained some 424,000 new US users every day at the start of the summer.
"Without new users, we cannot compete with other platforms," said Vanessa Pappas, interim boss of TikTok, in the complaint.
Carl Nichols on Thursday disagreed with government lawyers that the ban "would maintain the status quo" since it does not prevent current users from continuing to use TikTok.
The judge alone has the power to give a breather to the music and comedy app, which is visited by 100 million Americans every month.
Trade negotiations with American groups have indeed ended in an agreement which does not seem to satisfy any of the parties involved.
Last weekend, TikTok confirmed plans to create a new company, TikTok Global, involving Oracle as a technology partner in the United States and Walmart as a business partner.
It plans to acquire a stake of 12.5% from Oracle and 7.5% from Walmart.
The Americans would hold four of the five seats on the board.
- Trade war -
But this project depends on the goodwill of the American president and the Chinese government, in full trade war.
On Monday, the White House host, campaigning for re-election, insisted that he would not give his approval if the new group remained under Chinese control while claiming that Oracle and Walmart would own the majority of the new group.
ByteDance, which includes US investors, called the information "false rumors."
But on Thursday the Chinese group announced that it had made a "request for authorization" to export technology, without specifying on what subject.
This initiative could concern the famous algorithm that made TikTok so successful: it allows users to display the content most likely to interest them, according to their tastes, and to lead them to spend as much time as possible viewing. video after video on the platform.
China refuses to let this precious computer system fall into the hands of the United States.
On August 28, Beijing included algorithms in the list of artificial intelligence technologies that cannot be exported without authorization.
- Elections -
If the negotiations are unsuccessful, a complete ban on TikTok's activities on US soil could come into effect from November 12, the Treasury has warned.
Caught in this political stranglehold, the American leaders of TikTok launched a communications campaign this summer to prove their American roots.
Society is posing as a defender of freedom of expression and democratic debate in the run-up to the US elections on November 3.
“The mix of light entertainment and humor that the app offers enabled TikTok's initial growth. But today, (...) many content creators use our app to express their solidarity with social movements , assert their political preferences or support candidates, with audiences of millions of people, "TikTok said in its appeal.
© 2020 AFP