TikTok Seeks Extension Of US Deadline On Forced Sale To Oracle, Walmart

ByteDance has filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to extend the Nov. 12 deadline of a forced sale to Walmart Inc WMT and Oracle Corporation  ORCL, the Wall Street Journal reports.

What Happened: The TikTok parent has asked the court for additional time to work out the divestiture deal, citing a lack of communication from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The company says it was in talks with the CFIUS to address the security concerns of President Donald Trump's administration but the feedback stopped in recent weeks even as the deadline approached.

The petition calls the forced-deal "arbitrary and capricious" and claims it denied TikTok its due process under the law.

The Trump administration ordered a ban on TikTok, citing national security concerns, unless it dissociates all U.S. based operations from China.

China intervened by banning the export of certain technologies to a foreign entity.

"For a year, TikTok has actively engaged with CFIUS in good faith to address its national security concerns, even as we disagree with its assessment," TikTok said in a statement. The company claims that its detailed solutions to the CFIUS — addressing the national security concerns — have no substantive feedback.

Why It Matters: TikTok is the second most popular app among teens, trailing Snap Inc's SNAP Snapchat, but ahead of Facebook, Inc's FB Instagram.

The Nov. 12 CFIUS deadline calls for ByteDance to divest TikTok operations but doesn't mention what will happen if the deadline is breached.

TikTok said it is still interested in completing the technology partnership with Oracle, but the petition protects itself and ensures the discussions can take place.

ByteDance had won a preliminary injunction against Trump Administration's ban in September.