TikTok’s future in the United States has been given yet another reprieve. President Donald Trump has extended for the fourth time the deadline for the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to separate from its US operations.
The new cutoff date is December 16, 2025, avoiding—for now—an outright ban of the platform in the country.
Agreement in Progress
According to Trump, negotiations are already underway with American companies interested in acquiring a stake in TikTok’s US arm. ByteDance is expected to create a new American-based entity, reducing Chinese ownership to less than 20%.
Potential investors include:
- Oracle – already TikTok’s cloud provider,
- Silver Lake,
- General Atlantic, and
- Susquehanna International Group.
This arrangement would allow ByteDance to retain a minority role while giving US firms controlling influence.
The Algorithm Question
One of the thorniest issues remains TikTok’s recommendation algorithm—the technology that powers its addictive “For You” feed. Under the current proposal, the US subsidiary would license the algorithm from ByteDance rather than owning it outright.
Analysts warn that this partial separation may not satisfy the 2024 congressional law, which requires a complete operational split from China to address national security concerns.
Security Concerns Remain
For years, US lawmakers and intelligence agencies have raised alarms over TikTok, citing fears that:
- Beijing could gain access to the personal data of 170 million American users,
- or that the app could be exploited as a propaganda tool.
The Supreme Court has already upheld the legislation mandating TikTok’s divestment in the US, putting pressure on the Biden administration and ByteDance to finalize a compliant deal.
The outcome will hinge on delicate negotiations between Washington and Beijing. A planned conversation later this week between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could prove decisive.
While some experts see the licensing model as a pragmatic compromise to keep TikTok operational, others argue that without full control of the algorithm, legal and security challenges will persist.
For now, TikTok users in the US will keep their app—but the clock is ticking once again.
