TikTok faces U.S. ownership deadline

A deal to transfer TikTok's U.S. operations under the control of domestic investors has to be finalized by December 16, marking the deadline set for ByteDance and its international partners to restructure the app's operations in order to continue serving its massive U.S. user base.

TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and a group of international investors now have to finalize the deal separating the app's U.S. assets. Without an agreement, the app risks losing access to its largest market.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially pushed to ban TikTok, but used the platform during his 2024 election campaign to connect with younger voters. In September, he extended the deadline for a fourth time.

Trump said that American investors are taking over the platform and will run it with high-level expertise. He noted that tech giant Oracle and its CTO and executive chair Larry Ellison are expected to play a major role in managing the app's security and safety.

Other reported investors include U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake and MGX, a state-backed fund from Abu Dhabi.

The U.S. government has expressed long-standing concerns over user data security, while TikTok has maintained that it protects user privacy.

China has said it supports a solution that satisfies both parties and complies with Chinese law.

TikTok faces U.S. ownership deadline

TikTok faces U.S. ownership deadline

Impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing Gulf countries to revisit costly plans for pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, so that they can continue to export oil and gas, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

"Officials and industry executives say new pipelines may be the only way to reduce Gulf countries' enduring vulnerability to disruption in the strait, even though such projects would be expensive, politically complex and take years to complete," said the report.

"Previous plans for pipelines across the region have repeatedly stalled, undone by high costs and complexity," it said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north.

Around a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which also carries about one quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

Gulf countries consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz: Financial Times