Trump considers plan to avoid TikTok ban as deadline approaches
The Trump administration is considering a deal to save TikTok, which would allow China to maintain control of the algorithm, while leasing it to a U.S. company with a minority ownership stake, according to a source close to the deal on Wednesday.
The Trump administration is eyeing an executive order for the president to sign Friday that will extend the deadline to sell or face a ban in the U.S., the source said, News.Az reports citing ABC news.
The administration has set an April 5 deadline for the app to be banned if it is not sold by it's Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance.
It's unclear if that proposal follows the bipartisan law that Congress passed, which forces TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell the wildly popular social media platform or face a ban in the U.S.
The law bans "the establishment or maintenance of any operational relationship" between the U.S. app and "any formerly affiliated entities that are controlled by a foreign adversary, including any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm."
The algorithm is the secret sauce that makes TikTok so addictive and popular, and it's the source of national security concerns over Chinese ownership of the app.
Because of that, the source said buyers are demanding liability protection. They are only willing to spend billions on TikTok if there are guarantees that they won't be sued by the next administration, according to the source.
In flux right now is how they will be given that guarantee. Potential buyers are looking for an indemnification or an adjustment to the law, which would need congressional action.
The mobile tech company AppLovin and a group including tech giant Oracle have also made bids to buy the app.
President Donald Trump while speaking aboard Air Force One on Thursday hinted that his recently announced tariffs on China could be a negotiating tactic to achieve a deal on a TikTok sale, noting, "If somebody said that we're going to give you something that's so phenomenal, as long as they're giving us something, that's good."
"We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, we'll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariff?" he said. "The tariffs give us great power to negotiate."
Even if Trump approves a deal, China will still need to sign off on it, and Beijing isn't too happy right now with the country about to be hit with a whopping 54% tariff.
On Wednesday, Trump and senior administration officials considered multiple proposals. It's unclear if a decision has been made on how to move forward.
Trump has said publicly that if an agreement isn't reached by the deadline, he will just extend it.
The White House has not immediately responded to requests for comment.
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