China Opposes Any Forced TikTok Sale, Prefers App to Shut Down in US (Report)

The Chinese government is in opposition of any forced sale of U.S.-based operations of TikTok, and would rather shut the app down entirely in the U.S. than see TikTok’s owner ByteDance backed into a deal, according to Reuters Friday.

Reuters reported based on anonymous sourcing that “Chinese officials believe a forced sale would make both ByteDance and China appear weak in the face of pressure from Washington, the sources said.”

President Trump previously took the unprecedented step of signing an executive order to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S. if ownership of the company’s U.S. assets are not sold to an American-owned company by mid-September. Officials in the U.S. have criticized the app, which is immensely popular among younger millennials and Gen Z users — saying that TikTok collects too much user data and may be passing that data on American consumers back to the Chinese government.

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Trump has even said that he believes the U.S. government should receive a cut of whatever agreement is eventually made to sell TikTok’s American assets, a move that tech experts say could set a dangerous precedent for future international tech deals.

At a routine briefing in Beijing Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijan likened President Trump’s demands to robbery. “Forced transactions by the government,” Zhao said, “violates market principles and international rules, and reveals the irony when the U.S. claims to be a champion of market economy and fair competition.”

In an attempt to take back some autonomy in the sale process, the Chinese government began revising a list of technologies that would need government approval before being exported or sold to a foreign nation — and TikTok’s proprietary recommendation algorithm is one piece of tech included in that list.

Numerous U.S.-based technology companies have queued up to express interest in buying TikTok, including Microsoft, Oracle, Walmart and competing social video app Triller. As the president’s deadline looms, each of these companies appears to be far from cutting a deal.

Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix

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“Better Call Saul” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” leads miss out, while “What We Do in the Shadows” sneaks in

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.

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