At the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, Trump extended the national TikTok ban that went into effect on Jan. 19, 2024. This allowed American users to have a 75-day extension that still allowed them access to the app. However, as April 5, 2025, approaches, users are beginning to question TikTok’s fate again.
ByteDance, the creators of TikTok, remain hopeful that Trump will find a way to extend or eliminate TikTok bans. Trump believes that TikTok is an excellent platform for political campaigns and marketing. Keeping the app running allows small businesses and corporations to thrive.
Trump described how he would extend TikTok’s ban if there is still no agreement between ByteDance and the United States federal government. As far as Friday, March 28, there has been no final decision on whether ByteDance will sell the app. According to USA Today, “On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he’d consider lowering tariffs on China to encourage Beijing, where ByteDance is based, to support a sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets. However, the president ultimately said he’ll just extend the ban again if a deal isn’t finalized by the deadline.”
Can Trump continue to extend the TikTok ban? The answer is yes. He can legally sign an executive order into office that continues to extend the TikTok ban for another 90 days. This would give Byterdance more flexibility and time to organize a plan to keep TikTok alive. The Trump Administration has still yet to announce a final decision on whether or not they’re extending the ban.
Bytedance is being forced to sell TikTok to American operations, which means that TikTok must sell the app to a non-Chinese buyer. Some American companies and individuals have shown interest in taking over TikTok. For example, Mr. Beast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson with over 380 million followers on YouTube, has expressed his passion for bidding on the social media app. Others, such as Kevin O’Leary, an investor on Shark Tank, and Frank McCourt, the Los Angeles Dodgers Owner have signaled their interest.
Though unlikely, Bytedance seems to have one choice to keep their app running. Selling TikTok. Bytedance refuses to budge due to Chinese security concerns and restrictions within the “proprietary algorithm,” which is an algorithm controlled by a company or individual that remains confidential and not publicly accessible. If Bytedance tries to separate this algorithm, then it could potentially hurt the app’s value. Bytedance believes that giving America complete control over TikTok could allow the government to uncover Chinese national intelligence.
Most sources predict that if TikTok goes dark again on April 5, then Trump will more than likely create another executive order to override the ban by extending its selling deadline. However, if Trump doesn’t extend the ban, then most users will rely on other social media apps that are still Chinese-based and are similar to the TikTok algorithm.
