By: Kenneth appiah bani.
In a major development on the ongoing negotiations surrounding the future of TikTok in the United States, former President Donald Trump has granted a 90-day extension on the proposed ban of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app. The extension gives U.S. investors until mid-September to finalize a deal with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to restructure the platform’s operations in compliance with American national security concerns.
Under the current legal framework guiding the negotiations, U.S. investors are expected to acquire an 80% stake in TikTok’s American operations. ByteDance, the Beijing-based tech firm that owns TikTok, would retain the remaining 20% of ownership. The arrangement is aimed at addressing fears that U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government — a concern repeatedly raised by the Trump administration.
“This extension allows time for a fair and transparent deal to be reached, one that safeguards the personal data of American citizens while ensuring that TikTok’s future in the U.S. is not compromised,” a senior official familiar with the matter told reporters.
The extension comes amid growing pressure from lawmakers and regulators over the app’s data privacy practices and its ties to China. President Trump had previously issued executive orders threatening to ban the app unless it was sold to an American company, citing national security risks.
The 90-day window is expected to see intense negotiations between ByteDance and a consortium of U.S. companies reportedly including Oracle, Walmart, and several venture capital firms. Any deal reached will still require approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and could set a precedent for future dealings with foreign tech platforms operating within U.S. digital infrastructure.
As the deadline approaches, both sides are racing against the clock to secure a deal that will not only meet legal requirements but also satisfy the strategic interests of all parties involved especially the millions of TikTok users in the United States who await the platform’s fate.
