President Donald Trump boasted that he would save the popular social media platform TikTok from a ban in the U.S. And that still could happen. However, according to those close to the talks, negotiations between the U.S. and TikTok's parent company, the China-based ByteDance, have stalled.
In a new report from the Washington Post, sources involved in the deal discussions say that it appears the Chinese government may still let it die unless it receives "larger concessions" from the Trump administration on other policies, such as trade. ByteDance requires approval from China's government before signing off on any sale, and Trump's new tariffs certainly haven't done a potential deal any favors.
During his first term, Trump initiated the push to ban TikTok in the U.S., citing national security concerns. However, Trump left office without taking any action to shut TikTok down in the States. Congress later took up the mantle, passing legislation that then-President Joe Biden later signed into law. This required ByteDance to sell off TikTok in 90 days or face a ban in the U.S., which would mean those in the U.S. wouldn't be able to download or update the app, and it wouldn't appear in U.S. app stores.
That deadline came during Trump's inauguration weekend last month. TikTok temporarily blocked U.S. users from the platform. After discussions with Trump, during which Trump posed the issue of him "saving TikTok," TikTok opened its doors back to U.S. users less than a day later. A pop-up prompt in the app thanked Trump by name when users returned to the platform. TikTok even hosted an inauguration party for Trump, and CEO Shou Chew personally attended Trump's inauguration ceremony.
However, ByteDance is still being required to sell TikTok. Trump has been involved in negotiations with potential U.S. buyers and has even floated the idea of the U.S. government buying a stake in the company.
While TikTok technically can continue to run in the U.S. right now, app stores like those run by Apple and Google face fines if they list its app. Despite assurances from Trump that ByteDance's deadline to sell TikTok has been extended, TikTok remains MIA on the major mobile app stores in the U.S.
According to one analyst that the Washington Post spoke with, ByteDance is far from desperate to sell as the company makes billions of dollars. For China, the successful homegrown IP and algorithm may be worth more than whatever price ByteDance would get for TikTok. China could also sign off on the sale of TikTok, the app, but not the company's recommendation algorithm that powers the platform.
Will Trump make the necessary concessions to sweeten the deal? Will China even approve of any acquisition? Will TikTok be banned once again? Things can still go either way, but as of now, they're not moving in the direction needed to sell TikTok before the new looming ban deadline.
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