US President Donald Trump said he would give TikTok more time to operate in the US if the social network does not find a buyer before the June 19 deadline.
"TikTok is very interesting, it will be protected," Trump said on NBC News, broadcast on May 4. He also repeated the phrase "TikTok has a warm place in my heart". Late last year, he mentioned this phrase after meeting TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. The US president assessed the platform as "fascinating", helping him win the support of young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
He said he would extend the deadline if "no deal is reached" by June 19. He has twice extended the time for ByteDance's short-video platform to continue operating in the US, once after his inauguration on January 20 until April 5, and again from April 4 to June 19.
TikTok has not commented.
In April 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok or cease operations in the US due to concerns that China could access Americans' data or spy on them through the TikTok app. According to CNBC, many names are said to have the potential to own this short-video network, including Oracle, Amazon, Elon Musk, and a group of entrepreneurs, including billionaire Frank McCourt and O'Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O'Leary. According to research firm CFRA Research, those who want to buy TikTok may have to spend between $40 billion and $50 billion.
Reuters reported that the process of preparing to buy TikTok is being accelerated by the parties before June 19. However, the Trump administration needs to deal with the tariff issue first. The US currently applies a tariff barrier of up to 145% on Chinese goods.
(according to Reuters, Business Insider)