Trump delays TikTok ban another 75 days after China stalls divestment deal following tariffs

[Daniel Sims]

In a nutshell: Chinese-owned TikTok faced a US ban on April 5 unless it could divest its American operations to a stateside buyer. The Trump administration was reportedly finalizing a deal involving several investors, but Beijing withdrew in response to new US-imposed tariffs, prompting the White House to extend the deadline.

President Trump recently signed an executive order to extend the delay on TikTok's US ban for another few months as negotiations to sell the Chinese-owned social network to American investors continue. The President claimed that the deal had seen "tremendous progress," but his recent sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs reportedly pushed the Chinese government to stop the deal.

Sources told the AP and Reuters that TikTok owner ByteDance and the White House were finalizing an investment deal with multiple US companies that would leave ByteDance with a 20 percent stake. The identities of the American buyers remain undisclosed. However, previous reports mention private equity firm Blackstone, tech giant Oracle, Amazon, mobile app platform AppLovin, OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, and others.

On April 2, Trump introduced historic tariffs on many countries. The lengthy list, which experts have described as a "nuclear bomb" on international trade, includes new taxes on imported Chinese goods that increase total anti-China tariffs to 54 percent. In response, Beijing signaled to ByteDance that it wouldn't approve TikTok's divestment until it could renegotiate the duties.

Congress passed a law banning TikTok in the US last year for national security reasons. However, President Trump, reversing the stance from his first term, extended the deadline days after taking office to allow time for a sale.

Many fear that the social network could put the personal data of its over 170 million American users into Beijing's hands or make them vulnerable to Chinese propaganda. Still, support for a ban has subsided considerably over the past two years.

Trade groups expect the new US tariffs to disrupt the global economy, upending a trade paradigm that has lasted for decades. Virtually everything Americans buy, including computers and other electronics, could see substantial price hikes.

As markets have lost trillions of dollars over the past few days in the worst performance since the pandemic, tech companies such as AMD, Dell, and HP experienced almost 10-percent declines. Although semiconductors aren't affected yet, new incoming tariffs might also target them.

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Trump delays TikTok ban another 75 days after China stalls divestment deal following tariffs

 

[Kirby1]

Who's worried about tiktok anymore. The enemy is in the white house.

 

[manowar51]

Who's worried about tiktok anymore. The enemy is in the white house.

Your enemy maybe. Most of us voted for that man in the white house.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Your enemy maybe. Most of us voted for that man in the white house.

Yeah... that just means you had a choice of 2 evils and you believe you chose the lesser...

 

[psycros]

Shouldn't the title be "EXTENDS Tiktok ban"..?

 

[Squid Surprise]

We're not talking about voting. Another logical fallacy, just totally moving the goal post.

You might not have been… but I was - as was the previous poster who literally said as much.

Stop quoting me. You have nothing of value to say to anyone.

Then stop quoting me.

Maga, right wing and ignores reality. Just different flavors of the same thing.

The entire world might not be divided into left and right… but your sad country is right now… wish both sides would learn to be a bit more tolerant.

 

[Mister_K]

Your enemy maybe. Most of us voted for that man in the white house.

My condolences.

 

[KingKappa]

I never understood the ban in the first place, people do stupid **** since the dawn of time. Do people not remember "Jack*ss" or the countless other shows or people that got famous for stunts or obnoxious behavior?

Many of these challenges were done before the internet existed or before it's current form at least. Like the passout challenge was done in the early 90's at my school with people aged between 6-12, something that is shown in challenges 30 years later..

How come this is a major issue in the US and not anywhere else in the world? Just seems like a powerplay to me. Tiktok got a bit too much traction so they pull everything out of the woodworks to get it banned or take it over by force.

It seems to me the problem would just move to another platform if Tiktok gets banned permanently. I see so much of the same trash on other US-based platforms..

 

[yRaz]

I love how the title implies cause and effect. how about we just ban short format videos and the brain rot they cause. At this point, it has very little to do with TikTok. Youtube, Meta, and basically everyone has short format videos

 

[NotYourITguy]

It seems to me the problem would just move to another platform if Tiktok gets banned permanently. I see so much of the same trash on other US-based platforms..

The problem is less about the stupidity of the trends and more about the influence China has using it. Another platform would in fact solve the core issue.

 

[Megalomaniac]

I just came from the "Video game tariff page"

What's the point of writing these articles and posting them if you're just going to shut down the comments BEFORE I get there?

 

[Megalomaniac]

Tik Tok is a threat to American civility and the mental state of our country's children.

I've lived in China. I can't say the same about their Tik Tok because just like their TV it's state controlled, educational and pro-nationalism for the PRC and CCP.

Our kids however are being zombified.

Nevermind the suicides, cyberbullying, challenges ended in deaths and other unfortunate incidents inspired by TT... It wasn't until Tik Tok allowed for the radicalization against "certain people" that it suddenly was on the chopping block.

CCP lobbyists in America are obviously keeping enough money flowing to our politicians to prevent it from being immediately shut down - like China does to any American media with anti-CCP messaging.

I've NEVER been more disappointed in the American government than I currently am.

They don't have the strength to flip a switch and cut it off.

China does.

 

[scoffer]

Tik Tok is a threat to American civility and the mental state of our country's children.

CCP lobbyists in America are obviously keeping enough money flowing to our politicians to prevent it from being immediately shut down - like China does to any American media with anti-CCP messaging.

I've NEVER been more disappointed in the American government than I currently am.

They don't have the strength to flip a switch and cut it off.

China does.

Yes. Summed up nicely. Why the f**k your government allows so many Chinese to wander around willy-nilly is beyond me. You are building up a BIG internal security problem for the future. Lambs to the slaughter. Please don't give me any c**p about USA being a democracy..blah blah blah... Democracy is the biggest weapon being used against us by the Chinese,Russians, Iranians et al.........But hey, as long as there's plenty of money on the table for the politicians, who gives a f**K .....................Right??!

 

[Squid Surprise]

Yes. Summed up nicely. Why the f**k your government allows so many Chinese to wander around willy-nilly is beyond me. You are building up a BIG internal security problem for the future. Lambs to the slaughter. Please don't give me any c**p about USA being a democracy..blah blah blah... Democracy is the biggest weapon being used against us by the Chinese,Russians, Iranians et al.........But hey, as long as there's plenty of money on the table for the politicians, who gives a f**K .....................Right??!

Yeah, why do you guys let anyone other than white Anglo-saxons have rights? Craziness! Obviously everyone else is inferior, let alone a security risk…

Nice to see education isn’t a big value in your home country…

 

[amstech]

Who's worried about tiktok anymore. The enemy is in the white house.

They got voted out a few months ago. The adults are here and we will clean up this mess.
The Democratic approval rating is at 25%, lowest its been in my life. All of these liberal journalists, biased media and echo chambers wont change a thing. Your a generation of pampered brats.

 

[amstech]

And btw, Sega Saturn games cost $80 at my local Kmart when I was a kid. Inflation is real, and Democrats have owned the white house the past 12 of 16 years and the Country has turned to ****. This generation of spoiled, soft, brainwashed liberal babies who want to align with mainstream media narratives pushing anti-american agendas are the most mentally weak people in the world.

 

[KingKappa]

The problem is less about the stupidity of the trends and more about the influence China has using it. Another platform would in fact solve the core issue.

The core issue is (stupid) people doing stupid things, while arrogantly thinking they will always be fine.

The same stupid people won't stop doing stupid things just because China is out of the picture.

There isn't even any solid proof of this happening except how supposedly China is feeding bad content according to those standing to benefit from this transaction.. How convenient.

Which is funny when you consider the "Cash me outside" girl is now a multi-millionaire and many other obnoxious and stupid people doing stupid things are glorified and put on a pedestal in the US.

Do any of these things in Asia and you will be blacklisted or possibly even imprisoned. The cash me outside girl would even have a hard time working at a fastfood restaurant in Asia with her behavior known. Yet she's glorified in the US for bad behavior.

So the country making stupid people rich for doing stupid things is fighting against people doing stupid things? I don't see the logic behind it.

 

[manowar51]

Yeah... that just means you had a choice of 2 evils and you believe you chose the lesser...

Pretty much. But I am pleasantly surprised with how the new government appears to be behaving. And I had reservations that perhaps some of project 2025 might come true or that he would federally ban abortion, but it seems now that those fears about him were fabricated by his opponents.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Pretty much. But I am pleasantly surprised with how the new government appears to be behaving. And I had reservations that perhaps some of project 2025 might come true or that he would federally ban abortion, but it seems now that those fears about him were fabricated by his opponents.

No one is ever as good as they promise… or as bad as they’re feared to be.

One of the greatest parts about the United States is that their system is quite robust and it is VERY hard to make any serious changes to it. People can moan and groan about how terrible Trump is but… in the end, very little will change.

Of course, many argue that this is a bad thing because they DESIRE change…. But large changes almost always amount to mass suffering…

 

[scoffer]

Yeah, why do you guys let anyone other than white Anglo-saxons have rights? Craziness! Obviously everyone else is inferior, let alone a security risk…

Nice to see education isn’t a big value in your home country…

Ah yes......the usual "You're a racist, and thus I'm going to insult you" reply...Pathetic. Try looking in a mirror. Whilst unsurprisingly, completely missing the fact that race/skin colour is irrelevant. China is the biggest modern-day enemy of the USA. To allow citizens of that country to wander around unchecked in USA is crazy. BTW. My education was perfectly good -thank you for asking sweetheart. And now, I think it's time for you to go back to your crib.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Ah yes......the usual "You're a racist, and thus I'm going to insult you" reply...Pathetic. Try looking in a mirror. Whilst unsurprisingly, completely missing the fact that race/skin colour is irrelevant. China is the biggest modern-day enemy of the USA. To allow citizens of that country to wander around unchecked in USA is crazy. BTW. My education was perfectly good -thank you for asking sweetheart. And now, I think it's time for you to go back to your crib.

So you don’t think you’re racist because Chinese citizens are all evil spies?
I see… so Russian citizens are ok? How about Saudis? I assume all black people are probably selling crack on the streets too? And the Jews are ripping everyone off?

It’s a slippery slope when you generalize an ENTIRE people - especially when there are over a BILLION of them!

 

[Darth Shiv]

Your enemy maybe. Most of us voted for that man in the white house.

Literally wrong. 49.8% voted for Trump in the primary vote. Less than "most".

Also total turnout was 64.1% which is abysmal so Trump actual vote was only 30 odd percent of the eligible population.

If you want representative vote you have to facilitate voter turnout. Many countries do this way better than the US. GOP likes to sabotage turnout tho. I wonder why...

 

[Megalomaniac]

Literally wrong. 49.8% voted for Trump in the primary vote. Less than "most".

Also total turnout was 64.1% which is abysmal so Trump actual vote was only 30 odd percent of the eligible population.

If you want representative vote you have to facilitate voter turnout. Many countries do this way better than the US. GOP likes to sabotage turnout tho. I wonder why...

Numbers don't lie.
People lie about numbers.