The war over acquiring TikTok’s US operations has intensified after President Donald Trump disclosed that his administration is negotiating with four different groups interested in acquiring the famous social media application.
Addressing reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump was optimistic about the negotiations. “We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it… all four are good,” the President said. Asked whether a deal would be done soon, he said “it could” happen but refused to name the potential buyers.
The move follows heightened pressure on Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the US operations of the app by April 5, 2025, or risk a complete ban. Trump previously extended the deadline to January 19 with an executive order that granted an additional 75 days of talks.
TikTok Sale McCourt Enters, Shutdown Threat Looms
One of the individuals rumored to be willing to purchase TikTok is Frank McCourt, the previous Los Angeles Dodgers owner. Previous discussions involved tech heavyweights Oracle and Microsoft, though their interest at present is uncertain. Financial analysts have valued TikTok’s American business at up to $50 billion, and it is therefore a highly desired digital asset.
Pressure for ByteDance to sell off TikTok is driven by deep-seated suspicions that the Chinese company will export American users’ data to Beijing—accusations ByteDance has persistently rejected. Those security issues put TikTok at the vanguard of a larger Washington-Beijing fight over technology and data privacy.
“This isn’t just about one app,” said Dr. Sarah Chen, a cybersecurity researcher at Georgetown University. “The TikTok situation represents a larger question about how democratic countries should handle technology companies with ties to governments that don’t share the same values regarding privacy and freedom of information.”
Adding to the complexity, ByteDance has purportedly signaled that it would rather shut down TikTok’s operations in the United States than sell them. This position has brought another level of complexity to already sensitive negotiations.
National Security vs. TikTok’s Popularity
The Trump administration has insisted that any prospective agreement would have to resolve national security issues while leaving intact the platform that has become enormously popular, especially among young Americans.Â
With more than 100 million U.S. users, TikTok has become a powerful cultural force and advertising platform for companies marketing to young people.
The President has indicated that he may extend the deadline past April 5 if talks make significant progress, but any extension past 90 days would need to be supported by evidence that ByteDance is actively seeking a sale in good faith.
“The clock is certainly ticking,” said Mark Thompson, a technology policy analyst. “Either ByteDance cuts a deal with one of these four groups, or we might be looking at one of the most widely used social media sites effectively disappearing from the American internet.”
The result of these talks will probably set significant precedents for how the United States deals with foreign-owned tech firms that could be a threat to national security. It also reflects the growing intersection of technology, national security, and international relations in the digital era.
As the deadline in April looms, TikTok users and analysts alike watch anxiously to determine whether or not the destiny of the application will be settled by sale, extension, or even possibly banning that would actually reshape the American social media environment.
