Vice President J.D. Vance says that ByteDance will have a deal in place to sell TikTok before the April 5th deadline.
For TikTok to stay in business in the U.S. and avoid a ban in the States, its current owner, China’s ByteDance, must find a buyer for the short-form streaming video app before April 5th. This buyer must be a company that is headquartered outside China and several U.S. companies might have an interest in the app. Back in 2019 during his first term, when President Donald Trump was not a fan of TikTok, U.S. companies like Walmart, Oracle, and Microsoft were considered possible buyers.
In August 2020, Microsoft was reported to be in serious talks with ByteDance over TikTok. Trump eventually lost interest in TikTok as the 2020 presidential election became his first concern. During the 2024 presidential election Trump had a change of heart regarding TikTok as the app helped bring young voters into Trump’s camp and this constant exposure made him a TikTok star.
Ironically, the bill signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024 gave ByteDance until January 19th, the day before Trump’s second inauguration, to find a non-Chinese buyer or face banishment in the states.
