ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

kinther@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 522 points –
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If ByteDance is a normal company they will seek profits and sell for as much as they can.

If the sale is forced, the value of the property will be depressed. Why would they take pennies on the dollar to liquidate IP rather than fight it out in court and try to get the provision overturned?

This is why we should make broadly applicable regulations instead of picking on one specific company.

The law is not specific to TikTok. It is any company owned by a subsidiary of an "enemy" state, of which China is listed as such.

And selling the company to a non-Chinese holding company wouldn't work, because the dispute is over Chinese IP law affecting how ByteDance does business. Move the company overseas and it would no longer be covered by the IP provisions (something the Chinese investors don't want, because they benefit from the IP provisions).

Does selling from one hand to the other actually matter when it comes to value? If I own a company and sell it to myself via a shell corporation have I actually lost anything, except a tax write off?

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