[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 186 (Thursday, September 24, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60061-60063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21193]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

15 CFR Chapter VII

[Docket Number 200917-0247]
RIN 0605-XD009


Identification of Prohibited Transactions To Implement Executive 
Order 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the National 
Emergency With Respect to the Information and Communications Technology 
and Services Supply Chain

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Identification of prohibited transactions.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 13942, the Secretary of Commerce 
is publishing the list of prohibited transactions by any person, or 
with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States, with ByteDance Ltd. (a.k.a. Z[igrave]ji[eacute] 
Ti[agrave]od[ograve]ng), Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, including 
TikTok Inc., in which any such company has any interest, to address the 
national emergency with respect to the information and communications 
technology and services supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873, 
May 15, 2019 (Securing the Information and Communications Technology 
and Services Supply Chain), and particularly to address the threat 
identified in Executive Order 13942 posed by mobile application TikTok.

DATES: Transactions identified in paragraph 1 below will be prohibited 
at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on September 27, 2020; transactions 
identified in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 below will be prohibited at 
11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Kathy Smith, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1859.
    For media inquiries: Meghan Burris, Director, Office of Public 
Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4883.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Executive Order 13873 of May 15, 2019 
(Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services 
Supply Chain), the President found that foreign adversaries are 
increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and 
communications technology and services (ICTS), which store and 
communicate vast amounts of sensitive information, facilitate the 
digital economy, and support critical infrastructure and vital 
emergency services, in order to commit malicious cyber-enabled actions, 
including economic and industrial espionage against the United States 
and its people. The President further found that the unrestricted 
acquisition or use in the United States of ICTS designed, developed, 
manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or 
subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries 
augments the ability of foreign adversaries to create and exploit 
vulnerabilities in ICTS, with potentially catastrophic effects, and 
thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national 
security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and 
declared a national emergency with respect to this threat. The 
President directed that additional steps are required to protect the 
security, integrity, and reliability of ICTS provided and used in the 
United States.
    On August 6, 2020, in Executive Order 13942 (Addressing the Threat 
Posed by TikTok, and Taking Additional Steps To Address the National 
Emergency With Respect to the Information and Communications Technology 
and Services Supply Chain), the President further found that the spread 
in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by 
companies in the People's Republic of China (China) continues to 
threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the 
United States. The President directed that action must be taken to 
address the threat posed by the mobile application TikTok.

[[Page 60062]]

    Pursuant to Executive Order 13942, any transaction by any person, 
or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the 
United States, with ByteDance Ltd. (a.k.a. Z[igrave]ji[eacute] 
Ti[agrave]od[ograve]ng), Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, including 
TikTok Inc., in which any such company has any interest, as identified 
by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) within 45 days from the date 
of Executive Order 13942, shall be prohibited to the extent permitted 
under applicable law. This Identification of Prohibited Transactions 
implements that directive by the President.

Identifying Prohibited Transactions

Definitions

    Content delivery service means a service that copies, saves, and 
delivers content, for a fee, from geographically dispersed servers to 
end-users for the purposes of enabling faster delivery of content.
    Entity means a government or instrumentality of such government, 
partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, 
subgroup, or other organization, including an international 
organization.
    Information and communications technology or services means any 
hardware, software, or other product or service primarily intended to 
fulfill or enable the function of information or data processing, 
storage, retrieval, or communication by electronic means, including 
transmission, storage, and display.
    Internet hosting service means a service through which storage and 
computing resources are provided to an individual or organization for 
the accommodation and maintenance of one or more websites or internet 
services. Services may include but are not limited to file hosting, 
domain name server hosting, cloud hosting, and virtual private server 
hosting.
    Internet transit service means a service where a network operator 
provides connectivity, transport and routing for another network, 
enabling them to reach broader portions of the internet. A transit 
provider's routers also announce to other networks that they can carry 
traffic to the network that has purchased transit.
    Mobile application means a software application designed to run on 
a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch.
    Mobile application store means any online marketplace where users 
can download, or update, and install software applications to a mobile 
device.
    Peering means a relationship between internet service providers 
(ISP) where the parties directly interconnect to exchange internet 
traffic, most often on a no-cost basis.
    Person means an individual or entity.
    Subsidiary means a company that is owned or controlled by a parent 
or holding company.
    Transaction means any acquisition, importation, transfer, 
installation, dealing in, or use of any information and communications 
technology or service.

Identification of Prohibited Transactions

    Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 
U.S.C. 1701, et seq., Executive Order 13873 (84 FR 22689, May 15, 
2019), and as set forth and provided for in Executive Order 13942 (85 
FR 48637, August 6, 2020), the Secretary has identified the following 
prohibited transactions:
    Any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, 
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd. 
(a.k.a. Z[igrave]ji[eacute] Ti[agrave]od[ograve]ng), Beijing, China, or 
its subsidiaries, including TikTok Inc., in which any such company has 
any interest, involving:
    1. Any provision of services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. 
eastern standard time on September 27, 2020, to distribute or maintain 
the TikTok mobile application, constituent code, or application updates 
through an online mobile application store, or any online marketplace 
where mobile users within the land or maritime borders of the United 
States and its territories may download or update applications for use 
on their mobile devices;
    2. Any provision of internet hosting services, occurring on or 
after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, enabling 
the functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile application within 
the land and maritime borders of the United States and its territories;
    3. Any provision of content delivery network services, occurring on 
or after 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020, 
enabling the functioning or optimization of the TikTok mobile 
application within the land and maritime borders of the United States 
and its territories;
    4. Any provision of directly contracted or arranged internet 
transit or peering services, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern 
standard time on November 12, 2020, enabling the functioning or 
optimization of the TikTok mobile application within the land and 
maritime borders of the United States and its territories;
    5. Any utilization, occurring on or after 11:59 p.m. eastern 
standard time on November 12, 2020, of the TikTok mobile application's 
constituent code, functions, or services in the functioning of software 
or services developed and/or accessible within the land and maritime 
borders of the United States and its territories; or
    6. Any other transaction by any person, or with respect to any 
property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with 
ByteDance Ltd., or its subsidiaries, including TikTok Inc., in which 
any such company has any interest, as may be identified at a future 
date under the authority delegated under Executive Order 13942.
    The identified prohibitions herein only apply to the parties to 
business-to-business transactions, and apply except to the extent 
provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
licenses that may be issued pursuant to Executive Order 13942, and 
notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit 
granted before the date of Executive Order 13942.
    These identified prohibitions do not apply to:
    (1) Payment of wages, salaries, and benefit packages to employees 
or contractors;
    (2) The exchange between or among TikTok mobile application users 
of personal or business information using the TikTok mobile 
application;
    (3) Activities related to mobile applications intended for 
distribution, installation or use outside of the United States by any 
person, including but not limited to any person subject to U.S. 
jurisdiction, and all ancillary activities, including activities 
performed by any U.S. person, which are ordinarily incident to, and 
necessary for, the distribution, installation, and use of mobile 
applications outside of the United States; or
    (4) The storing of TikTok mobile application user data in the 
United States.
    Nothing in this Identification of Prohibited Transactions shall 
prohibit any transaction necessary to effectuate the divestment 
required by Order of August 14, 2020 (85 FR 51297) (Regarding the 
Acquisition of Musical.ly by ByteDance Ltd.). Any other transaction 
with ByteDance Ltd. or its subsidiaries is permitted under Executive 
Order 13942, as implemented by the Secretary, unless identified as 
prohibited or otherwise contrary to law.

Authority

    International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1701, et 
seq.;

[[Page 60063]]

National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.; Executive Order 
13942, Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, August 6, 2020; Executive 
Order 13873, Securing the Information and Communications Technology and 
Services Supply Chain, May 15, 2019.

Dated: September 21, 2020

    This document of the Department of Commerce was signed on September 
21, by Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce. That document with the 
original signature and date is maintained by the Department of 
Commerce. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned 
Department of Commerce Federal Register Liaison Officer has been 
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for 
publication, as an official document of the Department of Commerce. 
This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 22, 2020.
Asha Mathew,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2020-21193 Filed 9-22-20; 1:30 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-20-P