Washington (AFP)

Washington has decided to abandon plans to force Chinese group ByteDance to sell US operations of the popular TikTok app to Oracle and Walmart groups, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Joe Biden's new administration, however, has not yet finalized the response it intends to provide to this file, the newspaper adds, citing anonymous sources.

"It is not true to suggest that there is (in this file) a new step" taken by the Biden administration, qualified Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the White House during a press briefing.

"If we have announcements to make we will do so," she continued without however denying the information on the merits.

She did, however, confirm, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, that the government was reviewing efforts by former President Donald Trump to address potential national security risks posed by Chinese technology companies, including for the collection of US user data.

"It's a general review that extends beyond TikTok of course," said Jen Psaki.

With this in mind, the Biden government has asked the American justice to suspend the examination of an appeal formulated in late December by the previous administration in this sprawling case, according to court documents consulted by AFP.

Discussions are continuing between ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TiktTok, and US officials, the Wall Street Journal continues.

They focus on data security and how to keep information from US TikTok subscribers from being accessible to the Chinese government.

- Legal battle -

Any deal will be different from the solution the Trump administration envisioned in September, the sources told the WSJ.

Believing that TikTok posed a threat to "US national security," the Trump administration demanded that the popular light-weight video-sharing app be flagged for the United States.

Donald Trump had thus given his agreement in principle to an offer from ByteDance providing for Oracle and Walmart to take 20% of the shares of a company called TikTok Global, in charge of the platform's global activities and headquartered in the United States. United.

But relatives of the president had estimated that American investors should exercise majority control over the new entity.

ByteDance's position had subsequently evolved, with the group proposing the creation of a company to house its American activities, which suggested that it would be ready to give up its majority.

Contacted by AFP, the Treasury, the Ministry of Commerce, TikTok and Oracle did not respond.

Walmart declined to comment.

It all started with a decree passed in August under several national emergency laws to demand action against TikTok, which claims 100 million users in the United States.

The US administration accused TikTok of spying for the benefit of the Chinese government, charges the group rejected.

An ongoing legal battle ensued as Washington appealed at the end of December against a court ruling preventing the Commerce Department from imposing restrictions on TikTok, which would have resulted in the social network being banned from United States.

The Biden administration asked the appeals court on Wednesday to give it 60 days to study the case and see if it upholds the Trump administration's request.

"The Commerce Department remains committed to a robust defense of national security and to ensuring the sustainability of our economy by preserving individual rights and personal data," the Biden administration wrote in court documents.

Any agreement ByteDance concludes will be subject to approval by Beijing, which places restrictions on exports of technology developed by Chinese companies.

© 2021 AFP