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Business Standard
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
TikTok ban on hold? Trump hints at more time for ByteDance to sell app
US President Donald Trump has indicated that China-based tech company ByteDance may receive more time to sell off its US operations of the short-video platform TikTok, according to news agency Reuters. Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump signalled that the divestment deadline — currently set for June 19 — could be extended. The extension is under consideration amid renewed concerns over TikTok's ownership structure and its growing influence on American youth, particularly in the political landscape. Trump acknowledged the app's political utility, especially during his 2024 campaign. 'I didn't want to shut it down while it's helping us connect with young voters,' he previously stated in May. His latest comments reinforce the notion that TikTok's reach and appeal could influence the final decision on whether or not to enforce the sale. Ban delays and legal framework This is not the first time Trump has opted to delay action on TikTok. He has already postponed the platform's ban twice — moves reportedly backed by his attorney general. With the current divestment deadline looming later this month, The Wall Street Journal has suggested another extension remains possible. The legislative backdrop is the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was passed with bipartisan support in 2023. Under the law, TikTok was officially banned in the United States starting January 19, 2025, due to national security and data privacy concerns. However, after returning to office, Trump granted a 75-day grace period — once upon taking office and again in April. Bytedance's talks with Trump administration Under the Biden administration, ByteDance had made it clear that it had no intention of selling TikTok. That stance shifted in April when the company confirmed it had opened dialogue with the Trump administration to explore options for resolving the US portion of its operations. Any such resolution, however, would require a green light from Chinese regulators. Although ByteDance's US investors are still actively working to finalise a deal, diplomatic complexities persist. A Reuters source familiar with the negotiations said talks remain ongoing, but meaningful progress will depend heavily on broader US-China relations. Trump has long advocated for restructuring TikTok into an independent American-owned entity. That plan has stalled, particularly after Beijing expressed opposition to such a move amid rising tensions over the Trump administration's reciprocal tariff strategy. History of short-form video app TikTok TikTok originated from the merger of a 2014 lip-sync app from Shanghai, and Douyin, launched by ByteDance in 2016. ByteDance acquired in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, which rapidly gained global popularity. Despite its success, TikTok has faced scrutiny over privacy issues, including data collection from minors. In 2020, several governments raised national security concerns, prompting ByteDance to partner with Oracle in the US Legal challenges followed, with accusations of addictive design and mishandling children's data. As of 2025, TikTok boasts 159 crore users globally and has become a major revenue source, especially among young users.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Donald Trump says TikTok ban in US could be delayed by 75 more days: ‘Soft spot for…'
Donald Trump has said he's open to extending the June 19 deadline for a TikTok ban in the US by 75 days, if the short video company is not sold to a US based by that time. In an interaction with NBC's "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker, Trump said, "I'd like to see it done, I have a little sweet spot in my heart because I won young people by 36 points… and I focused on TikTok," Trump told NBC . Notably, the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was passed with bipartisan support in 2023 and banned TikTok in the US on 19 January 2025 over concerns of national security and privacy. Soon after taking over, President Trump had given a 75-day reprieve to the app and again in April. Trump was working on a deal to spin off TikTok's US arm into a separate company owned and operated by US investors. However, that deal has been put on hold after China indicated it would not approve such a deal amid rising tensions over Trump's so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs. According to a Reuters report citing a source, ByteDance's US investors are continuing to work on the TikTok deal, but the US and China would need to resolve their differences before the deal could go through. In the same interview, Trump said he was willing to lower tariffs on Chinese goods, acknowledging that current rates are so high that they have effectively halted trade between the world's two largest economies. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of up to 145 per cent on Chinese goods, while Beijing has retaliated with tariffs of 125 per cent. Trump said he would not lower the tariffs to get China to the negotiating table, but could eventually lower them as part of a broader deal. "At some point, I'm going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much," Trump added. First Published: 5 May 2025, 09:09 AM IST
