TikTok deal faces complications as US and China ratchet up tit-for-tat

SAN FRANCISCO — On most days, companies like ByteDance, Microsoft, Walmart and Oracle are considered kings within their fields. But over the weekend, it became increasingly clear that they can also be something else: a set of pawns.

The industry titans have been caught in an escalating tit-for-tat between the United States and China over the sale of the U.S. operations of TikTok, the viral social media app owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. The sale was ordered in early August by President Donald Trump, who said TikTok posed a national security threat because of its Chinese ties.