Will Trump Ever Permanently Ban TikTok in the US?
On 19 January 2025, just hours before the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, TikTok went dark across the US.
It was the first time the US government had ever banned a social media platform, with the app disappearing from Apple and Google’s online stores.
The road that led to this point was a long one, marked by controversies, court hearings, moral panics and a fair amount of misinformation.
Ultimately, the decision to ban TikTok came down to the Biden administration’s concerns that the Chinese-owned app was harvesting the data of American citizens for unspecified ends.
As TikTok’s US-based creators — many of whom earn a living from TikTok — posted their farewell videos, TikTok was given a temporary, three-month reprieve by the incoming president.
TikTok returned to service within 24 hours of Trump's inauguration which, incidentally, was attended by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Subsequently, the platform thanked Trump for "providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers".
Since the initial delay to the ban deadline, Trump has delayed the ban twice more, with the most recent extension coming early this morning.
The extension comes with an ultimatum to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance: sell TikTok to a US investor, or lose the whole American audience — roughly 10% of the app’s global user base.
Can Trump continue to delay the ban?
The original legislation passed by Congress only permitted one 90-day extension.
This week's order represents a second extension beyond that legal window, raising questions about the president's authority to indefinitely delay the enforcement of the ban.
Since his inauguration, Trump has been using executive orders to pause enforcement rather than blocking the law entirely, remaining firmly on the fence.
"This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure," says Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary.
Inside the negotiations
ByteDance has been in negotiations with several potential buyers since the US government first decided to ban TikTok.
Despite months of talks, the Chinese company has not been able to make a suitable agreement with any investor.
To be clear: TikTok will come at no small cost. Currently, analysts value the platform at tens of billions of dollars.
Recently, Oracle, whose Co-Founder Larry Ellison has long been a supporter of Trump, has been touted as a potential candidate for the TikTok takeover.
Elsewhere, American billionaire Frank McCourt is leading another consortium interested in acquiring the platform.
YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has also expressed interest in joining an investor group to purchase TikTok.
The Trump administration indicated in April that the US and China had nearly reached a deal for American majority control of TikTok's US operations.
The political and economic implications
There are all kinds of permutations to this situation.
If TikTok is banned in the US, once and for all, the Chinese-owned social media platform will still have more than one billion users worldwide. The US, however, is a lucrative market for the platform, which it will not want to discard too quickly.
For Trump, the result of an all-out ban could be negative. Whilst the US government is paranoid about the idea of Chinese surveillance, Trump has previously said he has a “warm spot” for the app, crediting it with winning him votes amongst the US’ younger demographics.
Americans will also feel aggrieved if TikTok is banned. Trump’s initial decision to postpone the ban proved extremely popular with younger generations, and the president must decide whether he wants to retain that good will by unbanning the app.
While the price tag for TikTok is likely to be sky high, the platform will be a valuable investment should any American investors agree a deal with ByteDance.
The app is only growing in popularity and capacity, with several new AI-driven features rolled out in recent weeks.
But if Trump should continue to kick the can down the road, the backlash from the US Congress will grow too loud to ignore.
The president, however, is confident in his government’s ability to get the deal over the line.
“Probably have to get China approval but I think we'll get it,” he told Reuters.
“I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”
Explore the latest edition of Technology Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Tech & AI LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Technology Magazine is a BizClik brand
