Oh look the clock is ticking once again for TikTok in the United States.
For the record, we do NOT foresee TikTok being banned. We’re sure somebody is going to write a check and they’ll be saved. Now, as for who cashes said check remains to be seen … if ever.
But get this, based on President Donald Trump’s timeline, he has just one month to lock in a deal for the sale of the massively popular short form video app, or else it could disappear from U.S. phones on Sept. 17.
In case you missed it, negotiations over TikTok’s future have dragged on for months, centered around Beijing based parent company ByteDance. Trump has already extended the deadline to ban the app three times after briefly allowing it to go dark for less than 24 hours back in January. A fourth extension may now be on the table.
In a late July interview with CNBC, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick laid out the stakes clearly. “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,” he said. “And those decisions are coming very soon, so let’s see what the Chinese do. They’ve got to approve it. The deal is over to them right now.”
The White House has so far declined to comment on the matter when contacted on Aug. 15, but the deadline is looming.
The ongoing controversy stems from national security concerns raised by U.S. officials who believe ByteDance could be sharing American user data with China. TikTok has consistently rejected these claims. Earlier this year, the platform briefly went dark under legislation signed into law by Joe Biden in 2024, marking the first time the app had been blocked in the country.
Trump has continued to assure the public that deals are close. He has issued executive orders three separate times delaying the ban, most recently in early July, when he told reporters on Air Force One that he remained confident Chinese President Xi would sign off on an agreement.
As Sept. 17 approaches, millions of TikTok creators and fans are left waiting to see whether the app will survive or if the U.S. is about to cut ties with one of the world’s most influential digital platforms.
What y’all think will TikTok get the axe in America or nah?