On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliberate on a crucial proposal regarding TikTok, as the app faces a looming deadline of April 5. This ultimatum requires TikTok to secure a non-Chinese buyer or risk being banned in the United States. A White House official disclosed this information to Reuters on Tuesday, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
As the discussions unfold, both ByteDance and TikTok have yet to respond to requests for comments from Reuters. Additionally, Amazon has opted not to provide any statements regarding its involvement in the ongoing negotiations. Interestingly, shares of Amazon experienced a notable increase of 1.3% following the report, indicating investor interest despite the uncertainty surrounding the bid.
According to a report from the New York Times, various stakeholders involved in the talks do not seem to be taking Amazon's bid seriously. This bid was submitted through an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, reflecting the complexities of the negotiations.
The future of TikTok, an app utilized by nearly half of all Americans, has been uncertain since the enactment of a 2024 law that mandates ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by January 19. The U.S. government has expressed concerns that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance ties the app to the Chinese government, potentially enabling it to carry out influence operations against the United States and gather data on American users.
In response to these concerns, Trump, after being inaugurated for a second term on January 20, signed an executive order that seeks to delay the enforcement of this law by 75 days. This temporary measure allows TikTok to continue its operations in the U.S. while discussions about its sale progress. Reports suggest that several parties have shown interest in acquiring TikTok, with Trump stating last month that his administration is engaging with four different groups regarding the potential sale of the platform.
As the April 5 deadline approaches, the fate of TikTok remains a pivotal issue, not only for its users but also for the broader implications it holds for U.S.-China relations and data security in America.
Reporting by Akash Sriram, Jaspreet Singh, and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Deborah Sophia; editing by Shreya Biswas and Shinjini Ganguli.
