“Sociable” is the most recent commentary on vital social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.
So today (April 4) is D-Day for TikTok, the ultimate day of its 75-day extension to work out a deal within the U.S. to avoid being banned, the ultimate probability for the Trump Administration to wrangle an arrangement that can appease all sides, and keep the app available for American users, and…
President Trump has announced one other 75-day extension of the deadline.
As per Trump (on Truth Social):
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we’ve got made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to make sure all needed approvals are signed, which is why I’m signing an Executive Order to maintain TikTok up and running for an extra 75 days. We hope to proceed working in Good Faith with China, who I understand usually are not very comfortable about our Reciprocal Tariffs.”
Yeah, Trump’s large-scale tariffs, which have caused much angst all over the world, have also prompted an escalation in America’s ongoing rift with China, which has now led to the Chinese government refusing the proposed U.S. deal to sell TikTok into U.S. ownership.
The White House had reportedly arranged a deal that will see the U.S. arm of TikTok spun off right into a separate entity, which can be owned by a bunch of U.S. shareholders. TikTok owner ByteDance would retain a 19.9% stake in the brand new business, while America would effectively “lease” TikTok’s almighty algorithm, versus taking full ownership of the app.
That, seemingly, would meet all the necessities of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” while also appeasing the Chinese government, which has been against any sale of TikTok’s systems, including its algorithms.
But it looks like the Chinese side has refused to simply accept the proposal, which has forced Trump to increase the negotiation period.
Which he can’t technically do. The TikTok sell-off bill was already approved by the Senate and enacted into law before Trump took office, so technically, immediately, TikTok is already banned within the U.S. But Trump has been able to ascertain a workaround, via executive order, which stops U.S. authorities from enforcing the law at this stage.
That also negates the utmost 90-day extension of the deadline for the bill to enter effect, since the law has already been passed, and isn’t being enforced, versus not being implemented.
And either way, it stays a dangerous process. Each U.S. company that allows TikTok to stay in operation within the region faces a $500 per-user tremendous throughout its operation inside this era. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has provided written assurances that this may not be enforced (which she has re-affirmed following this latest announcement), which is why TikTok continues to be running, but an extension of the negotiation period will theoretically increase those liabilities. Which could spook Apple, Google and Oracle, the three businesses which can be taking the federal government at its word on this element.
But immediately at the least, TikTok stays in operation within the U.S., and will likely be available till at the least the 18th June.
ByteDance shared an easy statement on the update:
“ByteDance has been in discussion with the U.S. Government regarding a possible solution for TikTok U.S. An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will likely be subject to approval under Chinese law.”
Sounds not so great for U.S.-China relations, but good for users, though with none longer-term stability for the app.
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