Sep 17, 2025 12:55:00

TikTok is reportedly in final negotiations to sell its business to a US company

The deadline for TikTok's US operations to either shut down or sell to a US company has arrived, but it has been revealed that President Donald Trump has issued an executive order extending the deadline by another three months. This marks the fourth extension. Furthermore, following direct talks

, the US and China have agreed on a framework for the business, and it has been reported that there are plans to establish a new US company to take over the business, with approximately 80% of the shares held by the US and the rest by the Chinese.

US Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/details-emerge-on-us-china-tiktok-deal-594e009f

TikTok in Final Talks to Be Bought by Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz
https://www.thewrap.com/tiktok-purchase-close-oracle-silver-lake-andreessen-horowitz/

Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary-Controlled Applications Act , commonly known as the TikTok Ban Act, enacted under the Joe Biden administration, TikTok was deemed an 'adversary-controlled application' because its parent company is Chinese-owned, and was required to either sell its business or cease providing service in the United States by a deadline of January 19, 2025.

Due to concerns that Americans' personal information is being passed to China, the United States is calling for the creation of an 'American version of TikTok managed by an American company,' but the idea that personal information is being passed to China is merely unfounded speculation. Furthermore, TikTok CEO Zhou Shouzi has stated that although the company that operates TikTok in the United States (TikTok Inc.) is parent company of the China-based ByteDance, it is based in the United States and American data is managed within the United States.

In addition, since American companies such as Google and Meta also collect a large amount of personal information from overseas users, it has been pointed out that the US has a double standard of 'collecting information ourselves, but not allowing our information to be collected at all.'

The US has not allowed TikTok to continue operating as a subsidiary of a Chinese company and is urging it to sell itself to the US. However, TikTok has previously said that this is 'virtually impossible' because it would mean handing over millions of lines of code, which are the nervous system of the service, to a third party.

TikTok sues over US ban - GIGAZINE

Since the TikTok ban was enacted, President Trump has postponed the decision-making deadline four times and has offered negotiations. In March 2025, without disclosing the names of the groups, he said , 'Four groups are in acquisition negotiations,' and stated that 'an agreement will likely be reached soon.'

Now, the Wall Street Journal has reported that 'a consortium of investors including software company Oracle and venture capital firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz may be considering acquiring TikTok.'

According to sources, a new US corporation will be established to operate the service, with US investors holding roughly 80% of the shares and Chinese shareholders holding the rest. The new corporation will have an American-led board of directors, including one member appointed by the US government.

A senior White House official said, 'Any details about TikTok's framework are pure speculation until formally announced by the administration.'

The TikTok ban dates back to August 2020, towards the end of President Trump's first term, when he signed an executive order calling on TikTok to shut down or sell its business and banning Americans from any transactions with ByteDance.

Shortly after the signing, President Trump signed an additional executive order giving ByteDance a 90-day grace period and requiring the sale of TikTok in the United States, but the ban has been postponed several times with changes in administration.

Biden, who took office in 2021, repealed Trump's executive order and provided the company with time, but he rekindled calls for the sale when he signed the TikTok Ban Act toward the end of his administration. The TikTok Ban Act set a 270-day deadline for the sale, and as this deadline approached in January 2025, the app's distribution was temporarily suspended in the United States.

After returning to the administration, President Trump signed successive executive orders postponing the deadline for 75 days in January 2025 , another 75 days in April 2025 , and 90 days in June 2025. In September 2025 , it was extended by another 90 days, bringing the grace period to December 16, 2025. However, questions have been raised about the legal validity of the repeated extensions, given that the National Security Act of 2024, which serves as the basis for the extensions, only allows for a single 90-day extension .