President Donald Trump has for a second time extended the deadline that would have required TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the US. A bipartisan law passed by Congress last year mandates TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sell the app. The platform'went dark'for a day in January in the US after the law took effect, until Trump intervened and delayed the ban until 5 April. He has now granted a another 75-day extension until June broker a deal. The US government has said TikTok poses a threat to national security because Chinese authorities might access its vast trove of user data, which Beijing denies. Speaking on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said "multiple investors" were closing in on a deal. He also suggested the US could offer a deal where China agrees to approve a TikTok sale in exchange for relief from US tariffs on Chinese imports. Several potential buyers have cropped up in reports. Amazonhas put in a last-minute offer to the White House to acquire TikTok, according to the BBC's US partner CBS. Amazon declined to comment. Trump has said he would be open to selling TikTok toOracle co-founder Larry Ellison, as well as Elon Musk, although the latter said he had no intention of buying. Other potential buyers include billionaireFrank McCourt,together with Canadian businessmanKevin O'Leary- a celebrity investor on Shark Tank, the US version of Dragons' Den. Alexis Ohanian, who co-foundedReddit, said in a post on X last month that he had joined Mr McCourt's bid. The biggest YouTuber in the worldJimmy Donaldson- AKAMrBeast- has also said he's looking to buy TikTok as part of a group of investors. Tim Stokely, the British founder ofOnlyFans, has also to offered to buy TikTok under his recently re-launched company, Zoop. Computing giantMicrosoft, private equity giantBlackstone,venture capital firmAndreessen Horowitzand search enginePerplexity AIare also reportedly in the running for a stake. The White House has reportedly considered an option whereby ByteDance would keep ownership of TikTok's algorithm, but lease it to a new entity operating the video-sharing app within the US. If no deal is reached by 5 April, the app could once again face a US ban and be pulled from app stores. Trumpsigned an executive orderin January, which only delayed TikTok's ban by 75 days. His order did not overturn the ban on the app passed into law by Congress and upheld by the US Supreme Court. Trump could allow the law to stand, but ask the Department of Justice to continue to ignore it. The government would effectively be telling Apple and Google they will not be punished for allowing people to download TikTok on to their devices. TikTokreturned to Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store in February, after the companies were reportedly told they would not face consequences for hosting it. Trump has also said he would "probably" extend the deadline, if needed. TikTok says it has 170 million US users who spent - on average - 51 minutes per day on the app in 2024. Experts say rivals such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts could benefit if Trump's efforts to broker a sale of TikTok don't succeed. "Chief marketing officers who we've spoken with confirmed that they will divert their media dollars to Meta and Google if they can no longer advertise on TikTok," said Kelsey Chickering, an analyst at market research company Forrester. Other potential winners include Amazon's Twitch, which made its name by hosting livestreams - a popular feature on TikTok. Twitch is well known particularly to gamers, though its other content is expanding, too. Other Chinese-owned platforms,such as Xiaohongshu- known as RedNote among its US users - have also seen rapid growth in the US and the UK. Additional reporting by Liv McMahon & Imran Rahman-Jones
Who's trying to buy TikTok?
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"Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline as Multiple Investors Show Interest"
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TruthLens AI Summary
President Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline for TikTok to either be sold or face a potential ban in the United States. A bipartisan law enacted by Congress last year requires TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest the app due to concerns over national security. The platform had previously gone offline for a day in January after the law took effect, but Trump intervened, postponing the ban until April 5. He has now provided an additional 75-day extension, pushing the deadline to June, to facilitate negotiations for a sale. The U.S. government has raised alarms that TikTok could pose a threat to national security, as it may allow Chinese authorities access to vast amounts of user data, a claim that Beijing has denied. During a recent flight on Air Force One, Trump indicated that there are multiple investors interested in acquiring TikTok, hinting at a potential deal that might involve China easing tariffs on U.S. imports in exchange for approval of the sale.
Several prominent figures and companies have emerged as potential buyers for TikTok. Amazon reportedly made a last-minute offer, while other notable names include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and billionaire Frank McCourt, who is joined by Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary. Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, has also expressed interest in McCourt's bid. Additionally, popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, is looking to purchase TikTok with a group of investors. Other contenders include Microsoft, private equity firm Blackstone, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and search engine Perplexity AI. The White House is considering a scenario where ByteDance retains ownership of TikTok's algorithm but leases it to a new entity managing the app in the U.S. If no agreement is reached by the set deadline, TikTok could once again be banned, with the possibility of being removed from app stores. TikTok, which boasts 170 million U.S. users, is aware that if a sale does not materialize, competitors like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts could gain market share, as advertisers may shift their budgets away from TikTok, according to analysts.
TruthLens AI Analysis
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