Regarding the Acquisition of Musical.ly by ByteDance Ltd., 51297-51299 [2020-18360]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 19, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 51297-51299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18360]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 161 / Wednesday, August 19, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 51297]]


                Order of August 14, 2020

                
Regarding the Acquisition of Musical.ly by 
                ByteDance Ltd.

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including section 721 of the Defense 
                Production Act of 1950, as amended (section 721), 50 
                U.S.C. 4565, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Findings. (a) There is credible evidence 
                that leads me to believe that ByteDance Ltd., an 
                exempted company with limited liability incorporated 
                under the laws of the Cayman Islands (``ByteDance''), 
                through acquiring all interests in musical.ly, an 
                exempted company with limited liability incorporated 
                under the laws of the Cayman Islands (``Musical.ly''), 
                might take action that threatens to impair the national 
                security of the United States. As a result of the 
                acquisition, ByteDance merged its TikTok application 
                with Musical.ly's social media application and created 
                a single integrated social media application; and

                    (b) Provisions of law, other than section 721 and 
                the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
                U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), do not, in my judgment, provide 
                adequate and appropriate authority for me to protect 
                the national security in this matter.

                Sec. 2. Actions Ordered and Authorized. On the basis of 
                the findings set forth in section 1 of this order, 
                considering the factors described in subsection (f) of 
                section 721, as appropriate, and pursuant to my 
                authority under applicable law, including section 721, 
                I hereby order that:

                    (a) The transaction resulting in the acquisition by 
                ByteDance of Musical.ly, to the extent that Musical.ly 
                or any of its assets is used in furtherance or support 
                of, or relating to, Musical.ly's activities in 
                interstate commerce in the United States (``Musical.ly 
                in the United States''), is hereby prohibited, and 
                ownership by ByteDance of any interest in Musical.ly in 
                the United States, whether effected directly or 
                indirectly through ByteDance, or through ByteDance's 
                subsidiaries, affiliates, or Chinese shareholders, is 
                also prohibited.
                    (b) In order to effectuate this order, not later 
                than 90 days after the date of this order, unless such 
                date is extended for a period not to exceed 30 days, on 
                such written conditions as the Committee on Foreign 
                Investment in the United States (CFIUS) may impose, 
                ByteDance, its subsidiaries, affiliates, and Chinese 
                shareholders, shall divest all interests and rights in:

(i) any tangible or intangible assets or property, wherever located, used 
to enable or support ByteDance's operation of the TikTok application in the 
United States, as determined by the Committee; and

(ii) any data obtained or derived from TikTok application or Musical.ly 
application users in the United States. Immediately upon divestment, 
ByteDance shall certify in writing to CFIUS that all steps necessary to 
fully and permanently effectuate the actions required under sections 2(a) 
and 2(b) have been completed.

                    (c) Immediately upon divestment, ByteDance shall 
                certify in writing to CFIUS that it has destroyed all 
                data that it is required to divest pursuant to section 
                2(b)(ii), as well as all copies of such data wherever 
                located, and CFIUS is authorized to require auditing of 
                ByteDance on terms it deems appropriate in order to 
                ensure that such destruction of data is complete.
                    (d) ByteDance shall not complete a sale or transfer 
                under section 2(b) to any third party:

[[Page 51298]]

(i) until ByteDance notifies CFIUS in writing of the intended recipient or 
buyer; and

(ii) unless 10 business days have passed from the notification in section 
2(d)(i) and CFIUS has not issued an objection to ByteDance. Among the 
factors CFIUS may consider in reviewing the proposed sale or transfer are 
whether the buyer or transferee: is a U.S. citizen or is owned by U.S. 
citizens; has or has had a direct or indirect contractual, financial, 
familial, employment, or other close and continuous relationship with 
ByteDance, or its officers, employees, or shareholders; and can demonstrate 
a willingness and ability to support compliance with this order. In 
addition, CFIUS may consider whether the proposed sale or transfer would 
threaten to impair the national security of the United States or undermine 
the purpose of this order, and whether the sale effectuates, to CFIUS's 
satisfaction and in its discretion, a complete divestment of all tangible 
or intangible assets or property, wherever located, used to enable or 
support the operation of the TikTok application in the United States.

                    (e) From the date of this order until ByteDance 
                provides a certification of divestment to CFIUS 
                pursuant to section 2(b), ByteDance and TikTok Inc., a 
                Delaware corporation, shall certify to CFIUS on a 
                weekly basis that they are in compliance with this 
                order and include a description of efforts to divest 
                the interests and rights described in section 2(b) and 
                a timeline for projected completion of remaining 
                actions.
                    (f) Any transaction or other device entered into or 
                employed for the purpose of, or with the effect of, 
                evading or circumventing this order is prohibited.
                    (g) Without limitation on the exercise of authority 
                by any agency under other provisions of law, and until 
                such time as the divestment is completed and verified 
                to the satisfaction of CFIUS, CFIUS is authorized to 
                implement measures it deems necessary and appropriate 
                to verify compliance with this order and to ensure that 
                the operations of the TikTok application are carried 
                out in such a manner as to ensure protection of the 
                national security interests of the United States. Such 
                measures may include the following: on reasonable 
                notice to ByteDance and TikTok Inc., employees of the 
                United States Government, as designated by CFIUS, shall 
                be permitted access, for purposes of verifying 
                compliance with this order, to all premises and 
                facilities of ByteDance and TikTok Inc., and any of 
                their respective subsidiaries, operated in furtherance 
                of the TikTok application located in the United States:

(i) to inspect and copy any books, ledgers, accounts, correspondence, 
memoranda, and other records and documents in the possession or under the 
control of ByteDance or TikTok Inc., or any of their respective 
subsidiaries, that concern any matter relating to this order;

(ii) to inspect or audit any information systems, networks, hardware, 
software, data, communications, or property in the possession or under the 
control of ByteDance or TikTok Inc., or any of their respective 
subsidiaries; and

(iii) to interview officers, employees, or agents of ByteDance or TikTok 
Inc., or any of their respective subsidiaries, concerning any matter 
relating to this order. CFIUS shall conclude its verification procedures 
within 90 days after the certification of divestment is provided to CFIUS 
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

                    (h) If any provision of this order, or the 
                application of any provision to any person or 
                circumstances, is held to be invalid, the remainder of 
                this order and the application of its other provisions 
                to any other persons or circumstances shall not be 
                affected thereby. If any provision of this order, or 
                the application of any provision to any person of 
                circumstances, is held to be invalid because of the 
                lack of certain procedural requirements, the relevant 
                executive branch officials shall implement those 
                procedural requirements.

[[Page 51299]]

                    (i) The Attorney General is authorized to take any 
                steps necessary to enforce this order.

                Sec. 3. Reservation. I hereby reserve my authority to 
                issue further orders with respect to ByteDance, 
                Musical.ly, Musical.ly in the United States, and TikTok 
                Inc. as shall in my judgment be necessary to protect 
                the national security.

                Sec. 4. Publication and Transmittal. (a) This order 
                shall be published in the Federal Register.

                    (b) I hereby direct the Secretary of the Treasury 
                to transmit a copy of this order to the appropriate 
                parties named in section 1 of this order.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    August 14, 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-18360
Filed 8-18-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P