Wall St Journal Quotes Partner Christian Davis on CFIUS Jurisdiction and TikTok Sale
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For its article “TikTok Security Dilemma Revives Push for U.S. Control,” The Wall Street Journal quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Christian Davis. The article looks at the possibility of TikTok being forced to sell its U.S. operations to ensure that the Chinese-owned company’s namesake app can’t be used for espionage and political influence.
The article notes that the possibility of a forced sale has come up in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the interagency federal government body set up to review the implications of foreign investments in U.S. companies from a national security perspective. It also reports that some people within the Treasury Department—whose Secretary chairs CFIUS—are concerned that an attempt to force a sale could lead to litigation that the U.S. government could eventually lose.
Davis, whose practice focuses on advising clients regarding, and representing them before, CFIUS, said, “Treasury may have concerns regarding litigating the bounds of its jurisdiction because that could result in limitations on their ability to review future transactions.”
