As the April 5 deadline approaches, the future of TikTok in the United States remains uncertain. The company must either divest or sell its assets to a non-Chinese owner by the deadline. Potential buyers include Amazon, Oracle, and others, with Oracle leading a coalition that includes Andreessen Horowitz. President Donald Trump extended the deadline from January 19 to April 5 via an executive order. Trump has expressed a desire to keep TikTok operational in the US. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, has stated it has no intention of selling the app and argues that divestiture is not feasible, though the company did not respond to recent requests for comment. The ban on TikTok was first proposed by Trump in 2020, citing national security concerns. Congress passed a law banning the app in 2021, which the US Supreme Court upheld in January 2025. The initial deadline was January 19, but the app was briefly shut down before Trump's executive order provided an extension. Oracle has been handling TikTok's US user data since 2022 and is a leading candidate in current negotiations. The company's bid, along with others, aims to keep the app operational. Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering suggested that a ban is unlikely, emphasizing the app's algorithm as critical to its success. "TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand—it's not as powerful," Chickering stated. The outcome of these negotiations and the future of the app remain uncertain, affecting millions of US users.
