President Donald Trump has chosen Vice President J.D. Vance to facilitate the potential sale of TikTok to a U.S.-based entity before the ban extension in April. There are concerns about what type of arrangement ByteDance and China will agree to, as well as whether a split ownership would satisfy U.S. national security concerns. Several U.S.-based suitors are competing for the popular social media app. TikTok challenged a bipartisan law, leading to a brief ban in the U.S. that was later lifted by Trump. The recent executive order by Trump instructs the Attorney General to not enforce the ban for 75 days. The additional 10% tariff on China may make ByteDance less willing to negotiate with the U.S. government.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi believes ByteDance may be more open to selling now that all options to maintain control of the app have been exhausted. Prospective American buyers like YouTuber MrBeast and billionaire Frank McCourt are interested in acquiring TikTok. Rep. Jason Crow wants TikTok divested from ByteDance without ending the platform. During the 75-day reprieve, users can access TikTok on their phones, but it’s not currently available on Google and Apple app stores. The Department of Justice and Trump’s executive order clarify that Google and Apple won’t face penalties for offering TikTok for download. Private companies are not being told what they can or can’t offer according to the executive order.
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