President Donald Trump has announced that a deal over TikTok’s ownership in the United States will be reached before the April 5 deadline, marking the final chapter in the long-running saga over the embattled social media platform.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late Sunday, Trump assured that discussions were progressing toward an agreement that would see TikTok sold to a non-Chinese buyer, allowing it to continue operating in the country.
“We have a lot of potential buyers,” Trump said, emphasizing that “there’s tremendous interest in TikTok.” He reaffirmed his stance that the app should remain available to American users but under new ownership.
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TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has seen pressure to divest its U.S. operations intensified following the passage of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in 2024. The law, which received overwhelming bipartisan support, gave ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to sell TikTok or face an outright ban. The law was enacted due to concerns that TikTok’s Chinese ownership could make it a tool for Beijing to conduct data collection on Americans and influence U.S. politics.
With ByteDance failing to secure a buyer before the original January deadline, TikTok temporarily shut down in the United States late last year, causing widespread backlash among its 170 million American users. However, the app reinstated its operation after Trump intervened, extending the deadline to April 5, allowing more time for a deal to be finalized. Now, with just days remaining, the White House is heavily involved in ensuring a resolution, essentially acting as the lead negotiator in brokering TikTok’s future.
A Forced Sale With No Alternative for TikTok
TikTok’s precarious position in the U.S. leaves ByteDance with virtually no bargaining power. Unlike in previous legal battles, where the company managed to delay regulatory actions, it now faces a clear-cut choice: sell or shut down.
Washington has maintained that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk, with lawmakers and intelligence agencies warning that the app could be exploited by the Chinese government for surveillance or information warfare. The 2024 law was specifically designed to close any legal loopholes that TikTok might use to evade compliance. With no legal recourse left, ByteDance must now accept a deal, no matter how unfavorable.
Trump has also clarified that China’s approval will be necessary for any agreement, hinting last week that he might offer Beijing certain trade incentives to facilitate the sale. “Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” he said. This underscores the broader geopolitical significance of the TikTok deal, which has become yet another flashpoint in U.S.-China tensions.
Who Will Buy TikTok?
Several U.S.-based investment groups have emerged as frontrunners in the race to acquire TikTok’s American operations. The most prominent is a consortium of ByteDance’s existing non-Chinese investors, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, which has been in talks to inject fresh capital into the bid. Private equity giant Blackstone is also reportedly exploring a minority stake in the company.
The U.S. government has taken an unprecedented level of involvement in these negotiations, with the White House directly overseeing discussions to ensure compliance with national security concerns. Trump’s administration has effectively positioned itself as the final arbiter of TikTok’s fate, wielding immense influence over which buyers will be deemed acceptable.
The temporary shutdown of TikTok late last year was a dramatic moment in the ongoing battle over the platform. Influencers, businesses, and content creators who relied on the platform for their livelihoods were suddenly cut off.
The shutdown also ignited a fierce debate over internet freedom and government overreach, with critics arguing that banning a platform so deeply embedded in American social culture set a dangerous precedent. However, the White House maintained that national security concerns took precedence, with Trump making it clear that only a change in ownership would allow TikTok to resume operations.
The extension to April 5, granted by Trump, who has hinted at the possibility of further extending the deadline, gave ByteDance a lifeline. But with the new deadline now just days away, pressure is mounting on the company to finalize a sale or risk being permanently ousted from the American market.
A Global Tech Battle
The forced divestment of TikTok marks one of the most significant cases of U.S. government intervention in the tech industry. If the sale goes through, it will set a powerful precedent for how the U.S. handles foreign-owned digital platforms, potentially reshaping the global regulatory landscape for social media and data privacy.
At the same time, the saga underscores the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Beijing. China has repeatedly criticized the U.S. over its handling of TikTok, viewing the forced sale as an attack on its technological influence. The outcome of this deal is expected to have lasting repercussions for future Chinese investments in American markets.