TikTok is facing a critical deadline this Saturday as it scrambles to secure a non-Chinese owner or risk being banned in the United States.
With more than 170 million American users, the popular video-sharing platform must separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or shut down, following a law passed last year over national security concerns.
The law, signed just before President Donald Trump returned to office in January, stems from fears that the Chinese government could access American user data through TikTok. While TikTok briefly went offline and was pulled from app stores before the law kicked in, Trump extended the deadline by 75 days to allow for a potential deal.
That extension ends at midnight on April 5, and pressure is building to finalize a sale. Trump recently stated that a deal involving several investors is close, though he did not provide specifics. He also hinted that TikTok could play a role in broader trade negotiations with China, linking it to the high-stakes tariff talks between the two countries.
Several options are reportedly being considered to meet US demands. One leading scenario involves turning TikTok into an independent global company, with existing US stakeholders in ByteDance keeping their shares and new American investors like Oracle and Blackstone stepping in. Oracle already hosts most of TikTok’s US operations on its servers, and its chairman Larry Ellison is a strong Trump supporter.
However, a major sticking point remains the ownership of TikTok’s algorithm—the technology that powers its famous video recommendations. Any continued connection to ByteDance, even through licensing the algorithm, could conflict with the law’s intention to remove Chinese influence from the app.
Complicating matters further, other buyers have stepped forward with last-minute offers. Amazon is reportedly interested, while real estate tycoon Frank McCourt has launched a public campaign to buy TikTok under the banner of digital freedom. Even AI startup Perplexity and internet star MrBeast have expressed interest in investing in or acquiring the app.
Trump’s position on TikTok has shifted since his first term, when he supported an outright ban. Recently, he’s become more favorable toward the platform, viewing it as a tool to engage with young voters. His change in stance may also be influenced by Jeff Yass, a major political donor and key ByteDance investor.
Despite growing urgency and mounting political interest, the path forward for TikTok remains unclear. If a deal isn’t reached by the Saturday deadline, the US could enforce a full ban on the app, cutting millions of Americans off from one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.