TikTok ban: What's next for app as bidding war rages?

LONDON - U.S. President Donald Trump has granted TikTok a 75 day-extension for its Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the video-sharing app, delaying a ban that was originally set to take effect in January under a 2024 law.

The new extension sets a mid-June deadline for a deal.

Trump wants TikTok's U.S. operations to be spun into a new company, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors. The deal has reportedly been approved by investors, the administration and ByteDance. ByteDance would hold less than 20% of TikTok.

The Chinese government has put up resistance due to recent global tariffs, according to a social media post by Trump.

Last week, Trump said he would consider a deal for TikTok in which China approves the sale in exchange for relief from the levies - now at 54% for Chinese imports into the United States.

"ByteDance has been in discussion with the U.S. government regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S.," the company said in an emailed statement to Context. Key matters are unresolved and any agreement would require “approval under Chinese law,” it said.

Here's what you need to know about the future of TikTok.

Who is bidding for TikTok?

Zoop, a startup created by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, partnered with the cryptocurrency foundation Hbar Foundation to bid for the app.

Amazon, Perplexity AI, marketing platform AppLovin, U.S. billionaire Frank McCourt and influencer Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTube star Mr. Beast, have also entered bids.

Private equity firm Blackstone is discussing joining ByteDance's non-Chinese shareholders, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, in bidding for the business.

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is in talks to buy out TikTok's Chinese investors, as part of a bid led by tech company Oracle.

Trump suggested he would like the U.S. government to have a 50% stake in any joint venture.

TikTok did not respond to Context's request for comment by the time of publication.

Will selling TikTok improve national security?

The U.S. government has long claimed TikTok is a national security concern, but has released little evidence of specific breaches. Cybersecurity experts are divided over the effects of the ban.

"There was never a plausible threat model that showed the data collected by TikTok about its users could be used to undermine U.S. national security," said Milton L. Mueller, a cybersecurity expert from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"A change in ownership makes little security difference," Mueller said.

He said that unless in the United States were disconnected from global users in the way that Chinese apps are siloed from the global internet, content and data could be provided from ByteDance if requested by the Chinese government.

However Matt Pearl, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank, said selling TikTok would prevent the Chinese government from spying on Americans or engaging in influence operations by manipulating the algorithm.

A sale would prevent the Chinese government from “engaging in nefarious activity” with its algorithms and data, although it would not necessarily change data-sharing practices, Pearl said.

Babette Ngene, a director of digital civil liberties non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said banning TikTok was unconstitutional and disastrous for free speech.

"To truly reduce the supply of data that foreign adversaries can obtain, we need federal privacy legislation that limits how all companies collect and share our personal data," she said.

How has TikTok remained available in the U.S.?

The push to ban TikTok began in 2020 when Trump issued an executive order over national security concerns related to Chinese ownership.

The Biden administration then backed legislation for ByteDance to either divest or face a U.S. ban.

Trump said he saved the app because it helped him win the 2024 presidential election and he had "a warm spot in my heart for TikTok".

Lawmakers from both parties say ByteDance should have more time to divest but that TikTok remains a national security concern.

Where has TikTok been banned?

The United States, Britain and several European Union bodies have already imposed bans on government devices, as has Taiwan, but other countries have gone further.

In November, Canada ordered TikTok's business in the country be dissolved, citing national security concerns, but did not block users' access to the app.

Nepal, Iran, Afghanistan, Senegal and Somalia have banned TikTok, while Albania has a year-long ban on the app through 2025.

India banned TikTok in 2020. Pakistan has issued four temporary bans, with the last one ending in 2022.

TikTok is unavailable in China, where citizens use its Chinese equivalent Douyin. While the two apps work similarly, content is not shared between them, and Douyin is censored.

This article was updated on April 7, 2025 at 15:33 GMT to include the extension granted by Trump

(Reporting by Adam Smith and Rina Chandran, Editing by Ayla Jean Yackley)