TikTok Gets Another Reprieve

TikTok has received another reprieve, with President Trump giving the company an additional 75 days before a ban goes into effect.

Congress passed a ban on the Chinese social media app, with the original ban scheduled to go into effect on January 19. TikTok fought the ban all the way to the Supreme Court, but ultimately lost. Prior to his inauguration, Trump asked the SCOTUS to delay the ban, but the court declined to do so. One of Trump’s first act was to give TikTok a 75-day lifeline. Although the ban technically remains in effect, since it was passed by Congress and upheld by SCOTUS, Trump ordered the Attorney General to give letters to companies that guaranteed they would not incur any liability for allowing TikTok on their platforms and app stores.

With the original 75-day extension expiring on April 5, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to announce a new extension.

My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days. We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!). This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security! We do not want TikTok to “go dark.” We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Tariffs May Have Torpedoed A Deal

A major variable in the TikTok drama is Trump’s recently revealed “reciprocal tariffs,” including a 34% tariff on Chinese goods.

According to The Washington Post, the tariffs may well have sunk the Trump administration’s efforts to work out a permanent solution with China. The US has been pursuing a deal that would have seen the social media app spun out from its parent company ByteDance, with the Postreporting an announcement was just hours away.

It’s unclear what terms were close to being announced, although Oracle has emerged as one of the front-runners to purchase TikTok, or at least its US operations. In addition to Oracle, Amazon and a slew of other companies have been linked to talks or interest in a deal.

The Postreports that the tariffs were the key factor in Beijing sinking a deal, and that any discussions of saving it will center around tariffs and the ongoing US/China trade war.