TikTok’s Urgent Deadline: Ditching Chinese Ownership

New US Deadline for TikTok: Time to Cut Chinese Ties

​The U.S. government has extended the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations by an additional 75 days. This extension delays a potential nationwide ban of the app, which stems from longstanding national security concerns regarding TikTok’s Chinese ownership and the potential access to American user data.

The initial deadline, set for April 5, 2025, was first extended in January and has now been pushed further to allow more time for negotiations and approvals. Potential buyers for TikTok’s U.S. operations include investor groups led by Kevin O’Leary, Alexis Ohanian, and MrBeast, as well as Amazon, with the app’s U.S. operations valued between $40–$50 billion. Any sale would require approval from the Chinese government, adding complexity to the negotiations amid current U.S.-China trade tensions.

President Donald Trump has proposed the possibility of reducing tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing approves the divestiture of TikTok from ByteDance. This proposal aims to facilitate the sale and address national security concerns.

ByteDance has expressed intentions to challenge the divestment law in court, arguing that it infringes on constitutional rights and could harm the platform’s 170 million U.S. users and 7 million businesses operating on the app. The outcome of these legal proceedings and negotiations will significantly impact TikTok’s future in the United States.