Millions of Tiktok users in the United States woke up this Friday without knowing if the next day they could continue using the application. Bytedonce, the social network’s parent company, had a deadline on Saturday, April 5 to sell its operations in the country. If not, a law approved in 2024 would technically prevent him from continuing to operate in US territory.
Donald Trump, who had already stopped the veto on his first day of mandate, has intervened again. This time he has done it through an executive order that extends in 75 days the deadline before the measure enters into force. It is a temporary respite not only for those who use it by entertainment, but also for many content and merchants who use it regularly.
The sale of Tiktok wins time. “My administration has worked hard to reach an agreement to save Tiktok and we have made considerable progress. The agreement requires more work to ensure that all the necessary approvals are signed,” said the White House tenant in a publication in Truth Social. “We hope to work with Tiktok and China to close the agreement,” he added.
Several interested buyers. The possible sale of Tiktok in the United States has aroused the interest of several technological giants. In recent days, names such as Walmart, Amazon, Oracle and Applovin have sounded. Investment signatures such as Blackstone have also appeared. Although there is no official confirmation, Trump has already advanced that “there are many potential buyers.”
Tariffs as a weapon. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are news again for its international impact. In the case of China, which already faced a 2 %rate, new taxes of 34 %have been recently added, which raises the total of 54 %. In this context, Trump has suggested that he is willing to soften them if the Chinese government collaborates to facilitate the Tiktok sales agreement.
China must authorize the agreement. Tiktok initially refused to sell its operations in the United States, but it seems that the position has begun to move. Today, a possible agreement no longer seems so far or unlikely. Of course: any decision must inevitably happen by the Chinese government, which does not go through its best moment in relations with Washington due to the current tariff war.
How have we get here? The current situation has its origin in a law approved in 2024, during the mandate of Joe Biden, which forces Bytedance to sell Tiktok operations in the United States or face his prohibition. The central argument of American legislators is the risk to national security: they fear that the Chinese government can force the parent company to deliver user data.
In January, Tiktok was inaccessible for about 14 hours after the first deadline without agreement won. Application stores removed the app, but access was restored after Donald Trump’s promise to postpone the measure. The day he assumed the position, he signed an executive order that extended the prohibition period for 75 days, which won on Saturday and has been extended.
Images | Solen Feyissa | Brandon Day | The White House
In WorldOfSoftware | How will the end of Tiktok in the US: without updates, outside stores and a progressive degradation until its total shutdown
