The clock is still ticking for TikTok. You've probably noticed certain videos posted to the popular social media site were counting down to Dec. 16 -- Tuesday this week. That was the date TikTok users expected the latest threatened ban to take effect. It didn't happen, though. For the fifth time since his second term began in January, President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for banning the site unless its Chinese ownership sells it.
Chinese tech company ByteDance owns TikTok. In 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that stipulated ByteDance's sale of the video-sharing platform. It's due to US national security concerns about potential Chinese government access to data through TikTok's parent company.
ByteDance hasn't finalized the sale of TikTok's US business, meaning a ban of the app should've taken effect. The platform did go dark in Jan., a day before Jan. 20, Trump's Inauguration Day, but was resurrected pursuant to a 75-day extension granted by Trump. The president has continued to kick the can down the road. April 4 was the first delay date, followed by June 19 and then Dec. 16.
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The Dec. 16 date for a ban was nullified Sept. 25, when Trump signed an executive order delaying the sale for 120 days, extending the prohibition to Jan. 23, 2026. As part of this executive order, Trump announced the $14 billion sale of TikTok's US business arm to a group of tech investors, which included Oracle's chief technology officer, Larry Ellison. The deal requires approval from Chinese authorities.
Larry Ellison isn't the only Ellison in the news of late. His son, David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Global, recently made a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in an attempt to top Netflix's earlier agreed deal.
Messages from Washington continue to spotlight TikTok as a privacy threat to Americans and a propaganda tool for China. Beijing has hesitated about relinquishing control of the app's powerful algorithm. The video-sharing platform has become a bargaining chip in talks with the US over other issues critical to China, such as Trump's tight trade restrictions.
The TikTok ban is now set for January. Will it happen? That's anyone's guess. But if you're a student of history, it's safe to say that your For You Page likely will still be serving up cute cat videos and amateur dances for some time to come.