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U.S. Flag and TikTok Logo Featured in Illustration from January 8, 2025 – Reuters
On Sunday, President Donald Trump expressed optimism about finalizing a deal on TikTok before the April 5 deadline. This deadline requires ByteDance, the app’s parent company in China, to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States.
"There is significant interest in TikTok, and we have numerous prospective buyers,” Trump told reporters while aboard Air Force One. “We’re exploring options with China as well, since they may be involved.”
Recently, China dismissed Trump’s proposal that he might lower tariffs to win Beijing’s approval for selling TikTok to a non-Chinese entity.
Earlier this month, Trump indicated that negotiations were underway with four groups interested in purchasing the platform, which boasts 170 million users in the U.S.
A U.S. law mandates that TikTok must divest from ByteDance or face a ban due to fears that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans or sway public opinion in the U.S. This law took effect on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration, but he quickly initiated a delay allowing the app to continue operations.
This delay is set to expire on April 5.
“I am fairly confident there will be a deal for TikTok,” Trump remarked when asked about the possibility of extending the deadline in the absence of an agreement.
Trump had previously sought to ban TikTok during his first term due to national security concerns but his stance has softened. “To put it mildly, I won the youth vote by 36 points. Generally speaking, Republicans struggle with younger voters, and TikTok played a significant role in that,” he noted.
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