So like, Trump got sworn in on January 20, right? And then he goes and issues this executive order on his first day, giving ByteDance an extra 75 days. He keeps pushing the deadline back, first to April, then all the way to June 19. And guess what? TikTok is still up and running in the US thanks to that extension.
Congress passed this law that said ByteDance had to sell off TikTok’s US assets or else face a ban. And the Supreme Court was all like, “Yep, that law is good to go.” So, when Trump came back to the White House, he did a complete 180 on the whole tech battle thing. He tells NBC News that he’s gonna extend the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok to some American investors. He even admits he’s kinda into TikTok now, saying it helped him win over voters in the 2024 election. Weird, right?
There were talks about splitting off TikTok into a new company run by Americans, but that all hit a snag when China said, “Nope, not happening.” And then Trump slaps more tariffs on Chinese goods, making things even messier. A source close to ByteDance’s US investors says they’re still trying to work things out, but all these trade tensions are making it super difficult.
Oh, and let’s not forget that TikTok actually went dark one night before the deadline. People were greeted with a message saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” And Apple and Google were quick to remove the app from their stores to follow the law. But then Trump swoops in and gives ByteDance more time, extending the deadline twice. And now, TikTok is still up and running in the US.
So, like, it’s all a big mess, right? Not really sure why this matters, but it seems like everyone is scrambling to figure out what’s gonna happen next. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this whole TikTok drama is never gonna end. Who knows what’s gonna happen next with all these trade tensions and legal battles. It’s like a never-ending rollercoaster ride, man.