the clock is still ticking tik tokYou may have noticed that some videos posted on popular social media platforms are counting down the days until Tuesday, December 16, The latest ban on solicitation of TikTok users was expected to take effect on the same day, But this did not happen, This is the fifth time since the beginning of the second semester in January last year, President Donald Trump The ban on the site was extended until its Chinese owner sold it.
Chinese technology company ByteDance owns TikTok. In 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Regulatory Adversaries Act, a bipartisan bill that would regulate the sale of video-sharing platform ByteDance. This comes amid US national security concerns that the Chinese government could gain access to data through TikTok’s parent company.
ByteDance has not yet completed the sale of TikTok’s US division, so the ban on the app will go into effect. The platform disappeared on January 19, a day before President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, but returned after a 75-day extension granted by President Trump. The President continued to take a tough stance. The first transfer date was April 4, then June 19, then December 16.
On December 16, the ban was scheduled to expire on September 25, and President Trump signed an executive order delaying the sale for 120 days, extending the ban to January 23, 2026. As part of his executive order, President Trump announced the sale of TikTok’s US operations for $14 billion to a group of technology investors including Oracle’s Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison. The deal requires approval from Chinese authorities.
Larry Ellison isn’t the only Ellison in the news these days. His son, David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Global, recently said: hostile takeover attempt It was announced that Netflix would be working with Warner Bros. to break the previously agreed upon deal. Featured on Discovery.
Reports coming out of Washington continue to highlight TikTok as a threat to Americans’ privacy and a propaganda tool against China. The Chinese government does not want to give up control over the app’s powerful algorithms. The video-sharing platform has become a bargaining chip with the United States on other issues important to China, including President Trump’s tough trade sanctions.
There are plans to ban TikTok in January. Will this happen? It’s anyone’s guess. But if you’re a student of history, it’s safe to say that cute videos of cats and amateur dances will continue to appear on the For You page for some time to come.
