TikTok may soon ‘go dark’ in the US after multiple extensions and repeated efforts to stitch together a divestment deal. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the popular video-sharing platform would have to halt operations in the country if China did not approve a deal for the sale of its US arm. President Donald Trump had extended the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok for a third time last month — to September 17.
“China can have a little piece or ByteDance, the current owner, can keep a little piece. But basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm. If that deal gets approved, by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If they don’t approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark, and those decisions are coming very soon,” Lutnick told CNBC.
Trump finds group of ‘very wealthy people’ to buy TikTok
The assertion came mere weeks after US President Donald Trump insisted that he had found a group of ‘very wealthy’ buyers for the platform. Trump has repeatedly extended the deadline for divestment since taking over as President — despite a 2024 law that mandated a sale or shutdown by January 19 of this year if there had not been significant progress.
“We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way. I think I’ll probably need China’s approval. I think President Xi will probably do it,” he had told Fox News during an interview in end-June.
A deal has reportedly been in the works since spring to spin the US operations of TikTok into a new US-based firm that was majority owned and operated by US investors. The process had stalled after Beijing indicated it would not approve the deal amid escalating tit-for-tat reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods. Some Democratic lawmakers argue Trump has no legal authority to extend the deadline and suggest the deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements.
Pam Bondi sends letters to top companies
According to a Reuters report, Attorney General Pam Bondi had also sent letters to Apple, Google and other companies that provided services or host the TikTok app. The missives were made public this month and assert that the Justice Department was irrevocably relinquishing any claims against the companies for potential violations of the law. It also cited Trump’s determination that an abrupt shutdown would interfere with his overseeing national security and foreign affairs.