TikTok farce has damaging repercussions

The resumption of TikTok's basic functions in the United States, after it was temporarily suspended on Saturday, is definitely good news for its 170 million users in the country, including the 7 million small businesses that rely on the social media platform. Recent developments highlight the irrationality of the ban imposed by the law, as well as the popularity of the app.

However, the new US leader's statement on his Truth Social platform that he would like the US to have 50 percent ownership of TikTok in a joint venture may not be good for the market. After all, TikTok has been operating in the US for many years and has played a positive role in creating jobs and driving consumption in the US. That would hardly have been possible without the cooperation of its Chinese parent company ByteDance and its operating team in the US.

Forcing a flourishing social media platform such as TikTok to sell half of its holdings could prove to be its undoing, as its team might then lose the trust of users in the US market. Worse, companies might lose trust in the US market. Why would anyone risk doing business in a country where they could be forced to sell half their holdings? The US leadership should provide an open, fair, just, and nondiscriminatory business environment for market entities from various countries operating there.

The new US administration should handle the TikTok issue with prudence, and avoid a worst-case scenario.