A quick update on the TikTok U.S. saga: According to President Donald Trump, TikTok will be sold into U.S. ownership, in a deal that will appease all sides, by this week’s extension deadline.
Right now, TikTok is operating in violation of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”, which officially went into law on January 19th. That bill stipulates that TikTok needs to be sold to a U.S.-owned company in order to remain in operation in the nation, due to security concerns related to the app’s connections to the Chinese government.
Following his inauguration on January 20th, however, President Trump signed an executive order to extend the deadline for the TikTok sell-off negotiations. Which technically isn’t legal, as the bill went into law before Trump implemented that order, but Trump and his Attorney General have provided assurances that related parties will not be prosecuted for supporting the operations of TikTok under the law.
That extended deadline ends on April 4th, which is this Friday, and it has seemed like a TikTok deal was likely out of reach, due to the complexities of the deal required.
But today, Trump has assured reporters that a deal is coming:
“We have a lot of potential buyers, there’s tremendous interest in TikTok. The decision is going to be my decision, as you know, through Congress, they’ve given me the power to make the decision […] We’re dealing with China, who also want it, because they may have something to do with it, and we’ll see how that goes, but it’s something I think you’re going to have. I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
The Chinese government has been opposed to the White House looking to force a Chinese company into U.S. ownership, and has imposed strict conditions on any sale. There are also specific conditions set out in the sell-off bill that have further complicated a deal, but Trump is seemingly confident that TikTok will remain in operation in the U.S. following this week’s deadline.
At the same time, Trump has also said that he’s willing to extend the deadline if he needs to, while also suggesting that he may offer China tariff reductions to ease a deal.
Overall, the government seems confident that a deal will be struck, despite the many mitigating factors. But with only days to go, it’ll be interesting to see if that is the case, and if a deal can be made that will meet all of the complex requirements of the bill.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
