The clock is tick toward a U.S. ban on TikTok, but users seeking clarity on what that would mean didn’t get much Saturday from the company that runs the popular video-sharing platform or the tech giants who offer the TikTok application on their digital markets.
However, President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News that he is considering granting an extension that could allow TikTok to continue operating beyond Sunday, when a law which prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to US users takes effect.
The timing of the ban complicated matters, perhaps in TikTok’s favor: the outgoing Biden administration reiterated on Saturday that it considered implementation and enforcement of the law to be Trump’s responsibility, who takes office on Monday and has pledged to “save” the application.
Under the law, TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, had nine months to sell the platform’s U.S. operations to a approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to extend the deadline by 90 days if a sale is pending.
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance on Saturday to create a new entity that would merge Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. operations, according to a person familiar with the matter. If successful, the new structure would include other investors and allow existing ByteDance shareholders to retain their stake in the company, the person said.
Perplexity does not require you to purchase the coveted ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok users’ videos based on their interests. The person said they thought the fair price for TikTok without the algorithm would be north of $50 billion.
If the proposed merger comes to fruition, the algorithm will have to be reconstructed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the proposal.
In terms of potential buyers, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary recently told a consortium of investors that he and billionaire Frank McCourt put together offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for TikTok.
Trump told NBC News he would “most likely” grant the extension to TikTok after his inauguration. ByteDance previously said it would not sell, but TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime location for seating.
The US Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld federal law banning TikTok unless ByteDance divests its US holdings. In issuing the ruling, the justices rejected Trump’s request to wait until his administration could seek a “political resolution” to the problem.
TikTok, ByteDance and some of the dedicated users who rely on the platform have argued for the status violated the first amendment. The Biden administration sought to show that ByteDance’s ownership and control of TikTok posed an unacceptable threat to national security.
TikTok belatedly asked the Biden administration for a “definitive declaration” that would assure Google, Apple and other companies that they would not face fines if they continued to make its service available nationwide. Otherwise, TikTok said it “would be forced to shut down” on Sunday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s request a “set-up.”
“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days, before the Trump administration takes office,” Jean-Pierre said on Saturday. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent Saturday.
This is not explicitly clear. Experts said that given the way the law was written, current TikTok users would continue to have access to the app but would not receive updates, ultimately rendering it unusable.
Although the company announced that its platform would go dark, it did not provide details, including whether it would voluntarily shut down its U.S. platform at midnight.
Trump credited TikTok with helping him win the support of more young voters during last year’s election, but he wasn’t always a fan. During his first term, he issued executive orders banning TikTok and the Chinese messaging app WeChat. The courts then blocked these steps.
Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview Saturday that if he grants TikTok the 90-day extension, it would “probably” be announced Monday.
“You have to look at it carefully. It’s a very serious situation,” he said, as quoted by NBC News.
The majority of American teenagers and a third of adults use TikTok, according to the Pew Research Center. Most people use it to watch short and entertaining videos. A subset of users – content creators and small business owners – rely on the platform for their income.
Some past opinion polls have shown that a majority of Americans don’t want the app to go away. A poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in January 2024 found a three-way split among Americans when it came to banning the platform, with about a third for, against or no. having no opinion on the subject. At the same time, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July and August found that public support for a ban had fallen to 32%, down from 50% in March 2023.
If TikTok is banned – and remains banned – in the United States, it will result in a major financial shock. The company’s lawyers said in court papers that even if a U.S. shutdown lasted a month, TikTok would lose 29% of its total “targeted global” advertising revenue for 2025 as well as current and potential talented employees. However, the platform probably won’t disappear completely since it remains popular abroad.
For now, the company is trying to assure its U.S. employees that they can continue to come to work. Earlier this week, TikTok told its U.S. employees that its offices would remain open for work even if the “situation” was not resolved by Sunday.
In the memo, which was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the company, TikTok told employees that their “job, salary and benefits” were secure, adding that the law of ban had been written in a way that impacted user experience in the United States. but not TikTok as an employer.
The sale or ban law isn’t the only legal issue faced by TikTok and ByteDance in the last year.
In October, more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia sued TikTok, alleging the app was designed to addict children and harm their mental health. Virginia’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Friday making similar allegations while also alleging that TikTok misled the public about the Chinese government’s ability to misuse information about U.S. users.
Other countries have also taken steps to restrict or penalize TikTok.
On December 30, Venezuela’s Supreme Court fined TikTok $10 million for “failing to implement measures” to prevent protests over viral videos that authorities said led to the deaths of three Venezuelan children last year.
The Albanian Prime Minister announced the closure of his government in early December. TikTok for a year because the platform allegedly incited violence and harassment, particularly among children.
Also last month, European Union regulators opened an investigation into whether TikTok violated EU online safety and fairness rules by failing to prevent alleged Russian interference in the presidential election Romanian. TikTok said it has “protected the integrity” of its platform in more than 150 elections around the world.
NFL fans were mortified when referees called an unnecessary penalty on the Texans in the…
An Australian social media influencer was arrested Thursday and accused of poisoning and torturing a…
Five major banks are offering homeowners up to three months of mortgage payment relief in…
The Boston Bruins lost the lead in the final seconds of regulation. Then they lost…
Mumbai: Police on Sunday said they have arrested a Bangladeshi national for allegedly stabbing Bollywood…
TikTok was taken offline in the United States, hours before a new law banning the…