The TikTok ban has been delayed. Again. Northeastern University media and computer science experts are not surprised at all, citing the complexity of the deal and its political ramifications.
“The requirement of the law: to either ban or sell an extremely large and complex company — that’s not an easy thing,” says John Wihbey, associate professor of media innovation and technology at Northeastern University. “It’s about as complex as anything I can imagine in terms of a tech financing deal and the fact that it involves (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and (U.S. President) Donald Trump — it’s not your everyday venture capital investment or private equity sale,” continues Wihbey, author of the forthcoming book “Governing Babel: The Debate over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech – and What Comes Next.”
“It’s an extremely high-stakes, highly visible, highly political matter.”
