Trump has once again delayed the ban on TikTok in the States

The saga of TikTok in the United States is not over yet. Last January, one day before Trump took office in the Oval Office, the app was banned for nearly 24 hours on U.S. soil, only to reappear on Americans' screens following orders from the newly elected President. Starting from January 19, ByteDance would have had 75 days to sell the Chinese app to an American company, with the new deadline updated to April 5. Since the sale didn't go through, the U.S. government was supposed to ban the app again this weekend, but Trump decided to further extend the 75-day deadline to finalize the sale of TikTok's American subsidiary. In a post published on Truth, Trump emphasized that the government «does not want TikTok to be shut down» and that his administration intends to «work with Beijing to close the deal». The situation remains uncertain: ByteDance confirmed it is negotiating with the Trump administration but clarified that «no agreement has yet been signed» due to «several outstanding issues», further stating that any proposal will still be subject to approval by Chinese authorities. A condition that, as recent developments show, further complicates the negotiations. It seems that in the current tariff war, the app favored by Gen Z plays a much more important role than it appears.

Meanwhile – according to the BBC – the negotiations have become increasingly tense and entangled with other geopolitical dossiers. Last Wednesday, the deal seemed almost finalized: according to sources close to the U.S. government, a presidential order was about to grant another 120 days to finalize the sale, approved by all parties involved – existing investors, new buyers, ByteDance, and the U.S. government. On the same day, however, Trump announced a new wave of tariffs on Chinese imports, triggering an immediate reaction from Beijing, which withdrew its support for the agreement. The Chinese embassy in Washington declared it «opposes practices that violate the fundamental principles of the market economy», temporarily sinking the deal. The result is a climate of maximum uncertainty in which, paradoxically, TikTok finds itself at the center not only of a clash between superpowers but also of an all-American race to acquire it. In recent hours, several potential buyers have stepped forward. Among them Amazon, which has long nurtured the ambition to build its own social network capable of integrating with its commercial ecosystem and attracting a younger audience – the same reason that once led it to acquire Twitch and Goodreads.

Wired pointed out that among the possible investors, the most surprising is Tim Stokely, founder of OnlyFans, who, along with the emerging social network Zoop and the crypto foundation Hbar, submitted a last-minute purchase proposal. The consortium stated that the operation would represent «a David versus Goliath moment» in social media history, with Stokely's leadership turning TikTok into a creator-first model platform to enable a fairer revenue split. On one hand, the offer feels like a visionary endeavor; on the other, it highlights how TikTok is seen as a crucial stake in redefining the balance of the American digital landscape. ByteDance has until early June to finalize a deal with an American company. If it fails, the law passed in January will go into effect, and TikTok will be officially banned from U.S. soil. An outcome that would have not only economic consequences – considering the size of the advertising and influencer economy revolving around the platform – but also symbolic ones, especially in the current scenario of “cold war” between the United States and China.