US TikTok Negotiations Stall With Only a Month Left To Arrange a Deal

Checking in on the U.S. TikTok situation, and with a month to go before the platform’s 75-day negotiation window closes, things don’t exactly look great.

According to a new report from Axios, there are currently no negotiations being undertaken to keep the platform available in the U.S., because the U.S. government hasn’t yet appointed an official to lead the discussions.

As per Axios:

“There’s been some confusion as to who is actually in charge of Trump administration negotiations for the deal. Early expectations were that it would be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, given his role as chairman of CFIUS, but Vice President Vance seems to have taken the baton.”

The lack of clear communication on this front has reportedly delayed any negotiations with potential U.S. buyers, who would enable TikTok to remain in operation in America under the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. And with the extended deadline looming, that could make it difficult for TikTok, and parent company ByteDance, to arrange the required transfer process in time.

Though as Axios additionally notes, the timeframe itself may not matter:

“President Trump had no legal authority to extend the U.S. ban by 75 days, so there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t extend it out further (or even indefinitely). There’s also a proposal from Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) to push back the deadine by another 270 days, although it’s stuck in legislative limbo.”

At the same time, there’s also been ongoing discussion related to Trump’s U.S. sovereign wealth fund proposal, which Trump had seemingly suggested could be used by the government to purchase its own stake in the app.

Which sounds problematic for a range of reasons. But who knows? Nobody seems sure what’s going to happen with TikTok, or how it might come about, given the unorthodox approach relating to the bill under Trump thus far.

As we reported last month, one of several big tech players still seems most likely to eventually acquire a stake in the U.S. operations of the app.

• The main name that continues to come up is Oracle, with Oracle already facilitating the local operations of the app. Oracle has reportedly been involved in various discussions with the Trump administration about taking a stake in the app.
• Amazon is also reportedly considering a possible TikTok deal, with a view to using TikTok’s reach to promote Amazon products. 
• Microsoft has also been in discussions about the app, though it hasn’t publicly discussed any such details as yet. 
• Three separate investor consortiums, involving YouTuber MrBeast, Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, and TV personality Kevin O’Leary, have also inquired about the app, but they remain longshots to actually gain a stake.

Technically, right now, TikTok is banned in the U.S., with every company that facilitates its operation facing potential fines as a result of violating the approved bill.

That had been enough to spook Apple and Google, who refused to support the app in their respective app stores, till last month, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi gave them written assurances that they would not be punished under the law for doing so.

But right now, as Axios notes, the law already bans TikTok, and the 75-day extension isn’t legal either under the current law.

So maybe it’s bad that TikTok only has a month left, or maybe it means not much.

We’ll soon find out, as the next stage of the process shuffles on.