TikTok’s Future in the U.S. Hangs in the Balance Again

The fate of TikTok in the US hangs in the balance once more. The platform first “went dark” for US users in January after a law took effect and banned the app unless it was sold by its parent company, ByteDance.

The app came back online less than a day after, just as Donald J. Trump took office as the 47th president of the US. He signed an executive order and delayed its sale or ban by 75 days, which will be up by Saturday, April 5.

According to the BBC, if a sale is not finalised by 5 April, TikTok could be pulled from app stores this time.

Trump has hinted at extending the deadline, saying the administration is in talks with multiple potential buyers, including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, and companies like Microsoft.

The BBC reported that there are reports of a 50-50 partnership between ByteDance and the US government.

Should TikTok be banned, competitors such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts stand to benefit from the app’s 170 million US users, according to the BBC.