In the News: TikTok Export Controls; Mengniu Terminates Acquisition; and JPMorgan $1 Billion Buyout

August 31, 2020 | BY

Vincent Chow

China restricts AI exports, TikTok sale in jeopardy; Mengniu's Australian purchase falls through with no government approval forthcoming; JPMorgan buys out mutual fund JV partner for $1 billion

Trade War

TikTok sale in jeopardy as China restricts AI exports

China has introduced new export control restrictions on certain technologies, in a move that threatens to derail TikTok's potential sale to an American buyer. On Aug. 28, the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology published an expanded list of technologies subject to China's export controls, including new rules on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The update to the Catalogue of Technologies the Export of Which Is Prohibited or Restricted (中国禁止出口限制出口技术目录) is the first since 2008.

According to the Financial Times, the new export control rules will affect TikTok's attempted sale to a U.S. buyer as the company employs technology now covered under the updated catalogue. New restrictions have been added for "personalized information push services based on data analysis." As TikTok uses AI algorithms to push personalized content to its users, the company must now secure additional government approval for the export of its technologies.

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