ByteDance is facing further obstacles in the sale of its TikTok operations in the US as the Chinese government has introduced new regulations on exporting technology.
Under the latest revisions to the Catalogue of Technologies released by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science, 23 new items will be subject to export restrictions.
Two new rules under the category of information processing technology are relevant to the TikTok deal, which include the “personalised information push service technology based on data analysis” and “artificial intelligence interactive interface technology.”
TikTok’s success has largely been down to its effective algorithms which personalise users’ content stream. Therefore, China’s restrictions on exporting AI technology could impact TikTok’s sale to an American organisation. With an announcement about the sale previously expected to come soon, ByteDance will need to carefully study the revised catalogue and decide whether it is necessary to suspend current negotiations.
Read more about TikTok’s US ban:
- TikTok sale could happen in 48 hours as Walmart expresses interest
- TikTok CEO resigns due to Trump ban
- TikTok sues US government over “extreme” ban
- China disappointed after US bans WeChat and TikTok
