Donald Trump really likes TikTok but...: US commerce secretary 'warns' Chinese owner
Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce, has said that President Donald Trump likes
TikTok
but the Chinese-owned short video app has to move to US ownership. His latest comments came soon after he said that TikTok will go dark for Americans unless China agrees to give the US more control over the video app, used by some 170 million Americans.
'The President really likes TikTok, and he said it over and over again, because, you know, it was a good way to communicate with young people,' Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday (July 27).
'But let's face it, you can't have the Chinese have an app on 100 million American phones, that is just not okay. So, it's got to move to American ownership, it's got to move to American technology, American algorithms,' he said, adding, 'I know the President is positive towards TikTok, if it can move into American hands.'
Americans will own technology, have power: Lutnick
Last week, Lutnick sent a warning to TikTok's Chinese owners over the app's future in America.
'We've made the decision. You can't have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones,' Lutnick told CNBC.
'Basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology. Americans will control the algorithm. That's something Donald Trump is willing to do,' he elaborated, adding that if China does not approve such a deal, 'then TikTok is going to go dark.'
TikTok's fate in the US has been uncertain since 2024, when Congress passed legislation mandating that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divest from the platform or face a ban. The deadline for striking a deal with an American entity has been postponed multiple times.
Last month, Trump extended the divestiture deadline for a third time since taking office, pushing the new cutoff to September 17.
Trump previously stated in an interview that he has a group of 'very wealthy people' prepared to acquire the platform. A recent Reuters report indicated that private equity firm Blackstone withdrew from a consortium bid for TikTok's US operations.
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