resident Donald Trump talked about a deal with TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short video app used by 170 million Americans that
could be struck even before the deadline happening on Saturday.
In January, Trump set the deadline on April 5th for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban on national security grounds, due to take effect in the mentioned month under a 2024 law.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that “We have a lot of potential buyers," and that "There's tremendous interest in TikTok," adding, "I'd like to see TikTok remain alive”.
It is also worth mentioning that on Friday, Reuters reported that a private equity firm, named Blackstone, is evaluating making a small minority investment in TikTok’s US operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Blackstone is also in discussion regarding whether or not they should be joining existing non-Chinese shareholders that are led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, in their contribution of fresh capital to bid for TikTok’s US business, reported Reuters.
Washington also says that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance also makes it beholden to the Chinese government, and Beijing could use the app in order to conduct influence operations against the US as well as collect data on Americans.
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Trump also has talked about how he was willing to extend the April Deadline in the case that an agreement over the social media app was not reached.
Even more so, last week, President-elect Trump mentioned that the role China will play in getting any deal done, this also including its approval, stating, “maybe I'll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done.".
Vice President JD Vance has also said that he expects the general terms of an agreement that resolves the ownership of the social media platform that be reached by April 5th.
The future of the app is also used by nearly half of all Americans have been up in the air since the law was active in 2024. They have also passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by the end of January 19.
