President Donald Trump announced that his administration on the cusp of completing deal to sell TikTok’s U.S operations, just days before possible national ban. Negotiations involve several investors, but he he wouldn’t get into details, according to Trump as he addressed the press aboard Air Force One.
With over 170 million US users, TikTok was recently seen under the magnifying glass following national security fears tied to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. A law passed in 2020 requires TikTok to cut ties with ByteDance or face a ban soon, with the current deadline coming due on April 5.
In a stunning turn of events, Amazon has put in a last-ditch bid for TikTok to the fray in what is now a competitive fray that also includes Oracle and private equity behemoth Blackstone. The final deal could be a combination of existing U.S. ByteDance investors and new American dollars to meet U.S. regulatory requirements. 
Trump suggested that the sale of TikTok could be used as part of a larger trade negotiation with China. “We have tremendous bargaining power with tariffs and that people understand, that China knows that,” he said, sparking speculation about what he might be trying to trade.
One major unresolved issue is TikTok’s algorithm, a fundamental part of its success. Some reports have it that the new U.S. entity could license the technology from ByteDance.
With the clock ticking down, everyone is watching Washington for a government resolution to one of the biggest tech showdowns in recent memory.
