TikTok Could Be Banned in the US Unless It Finds a New Owner by Saturday

TikTok has until Saturday to find a new owner that is not Chinese, or it will be banned in the United States.

The popular video app, used by over 170 million Americans, is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance.

Last year, the US government passed a law requiring TikTok to break away from ByteDance because of fears that the Chinese government might be using the app to spy on Americans.

The law went into effect on January 19, just before President Donald Trump returned to office.

To avoid a shutdown, TikTok briefly went offline in the US and was removed from app stores.

But Trump gave the app a 75-day extension, allowing it to keep working while a new owner is found. That deadline ends at midnight on April 5.

President Trump said on Thursday that a deal to sell TikTok is almost complete and involves several investors, but he did not give more details.

He also said TikTok could be part of a bigger deal with China that might reduce tariffs (extra taxes) on Chinese goods.

There are reports that some American investors, including companies like Oracle and Blackstone, may buy parts of TikTok. Amazon has also shown interest in buying the app.

Other unusual bidders include an AI company called Perplexity and YouTuber MrBeast, who is part of a joint venture.

A big issue in the deal is TikTok’s powerful algorithm — the system that decides what videos users see.

ByteDance might license it to the new company, but that may go against the US law’s goals, which is to keep China from having any control over TikTok’s technology.

Although Trump supported banning TikTok during his first term, he now defends the app, possibly because it helped him gain support among younger voters in the last election.

One of his big donors, Jeff Yass, also owns a large share of ByteDance.

Unless a final deal is reached by Saturday, TikTok could be banned in the US.

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