Counting down TikTok's fate in the US.

That's when the deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the Chinese-owned company to be sold or shut down expires. Without further extensions from Trump or the US Congress , or if the company doesn't announce a buyer, it will be the end for TikTok and its 170 million US users.

Counting down TikTok's fate in the US - Image 1.

TikTok's time in the US is running out unless its parent company, ByteDance, reaches an agreement to sell the social media platform before April 5th.

U.S. officials have long argued that the Chinese government —considered an adversary of the U.S.—could access American TikTok user data for nefarious purposes or use the platform for propaganda.

According to President Donald Trump, several parties are aiming to acquire TikTok, although he did not disclose details. Bloomberg and The Information previously reported that Oracle, TikTok's cloud service provider, is a leading contender in this race.

Other parties interested in owning the app include a group of investors led by Frank McCourt. Previously, Microsoft and Walmart had attempted to buy TikTok in 2020 but were unsuccessful.

Recently, Trump also suggested the idea of easing some of the tariffs on China if it would encourage the Chinese government to support the sale of TikTok.

Trump had called for a ban on TikTok during his first term, but changed his stance in the 2024 election, arguing that TikTok was a counterweight to Meta's dominance on social media. President Donald Trump has a strained relationship with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook owner banned Trump from his platforms after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and Trump subsequently threatened to imprison Zuckerberg.

Mr. Trump also stated that TikTok helped attract young voters to support his re-election campaign.

The U.S. Congress initially passed, and former President Joe Biden signed into law, a ban on TikTok in 2024. This law required parent company ByteDance to divest from the social media platform. Failure to do so would require U.S. cloud service providers and app stores to cease providing services to TikTok, or face hefty fines.

TikTok has appealed the ban to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that it violates its First Amendment freedom of speech and other constitutional rights. A group of TikTok users also filed a similar complaint in a related lawsuit, alleging they were deprived of their constitutional rights.

However, the court ruled in favor of the government, arguing that TikTok, as a foreign entity, was not entitled to constitutional protections, and that national security concerns outweighed the government's restrictions on TikTok's use. The court also held that the law only partially limited freedom of speech, as social media users could still access and post on other platforms.

TikTok briefly ceased operations in January, just before its original sale deadline expired on January 19, but was quickly brought back online when President Trump extended the divestment period by another 75 days.

Now, ByteDance has only a few days left to decide whether or not to continue serving US users!

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/dem-nguoc-so-phan-tiktok-tai-my-1922503312225579.htm