TikTok Deal Postponed Indefinitely By Biden Administration: What You Need To Know

President Joe Biden is reviewing U.S.-China relations, including an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump in August 2020 aimed at forcing the sale of TikTok to a U.S. company.

What Happened: The Biden administration will determine its own path forward on how to deal with potential security risks posed by the TikTok app pertaining to how American users' information is stored and whether it is accessible by the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The Trump administration attempted to force TikTok’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, to sell the popular social media platform to a U.S. company, an order that in December 2020 was blocked in U.S. federal court.

Why It Matters: Rumors have been swirling in the investment world over which U.S. company or companies would purchase TikTok in the U.S. and when the deal might go through.

Although Microsoft Corp. MSFT initially sought out to acquire the app, computer tech firm Oracle Corp. ORCL and mega-retailer Walmart Inc. WMT looked to set to win the bid with their proposed joint venture TikTok Global after Trump said he approved the deal.

What’s Next: The public has yet to see how the new Biden administration plans to deal with China. The administration's pause on TikTok, however, makes it look as though Biden intends to soften the stance, which might be bad news for Oracle and Walmart.