President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he is “very likely” to grant TikTok a 90-day extension to comply with U.S. regulations requiring ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to divest its U.S. operations.
“The 90-day extension is probably appropriate. If I decide to move forward, I’ll likely announce it on Monday,” Trump told NBC News during a phone interview on Saturday, January 18.
Under a law enacted last year, ByteDance must divest TikTok by January 19 or risk a ban. Although the Biden administration has delayed enforcement of this mandate, TikTok has cautioned that it might shut down its U.S. operations without “clear guidance and assurances” from the government.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed TikTok’s concerns as a “publicity stunt” in a statement issued Saturday, stressing that the matter now rests with the incoming administration.
These comments reflect a shift from Trump’s earlier push to ban the app outright, signaling a more nuanced approach amidst ongoing concerns about ByteDance’s links to the Chinese government.
Buyout and Merger Talks
On Saturday, artificial intelligence firm Perplexity AI proposed creating a new entity that would merge TikTok’s U.S. operations with Perplexity, according to a source familiar with the matter. This structure would allow ByteDance’s existing shareholders to retain their stakes while bringing in additional investors.
Notably, Perplexity’s offer excludes ByteDance’s proprietary algorithm, which curates TikTok’s highly personalized video recommendations. The source estimated TikTok’s U.S. operations—without the algorithm—would be valued at over $50 billion. If the merger goes forward, the algorithm would need to be recreated, potentially integrating more AI-powered search functionalities into the platform.
Other potential buyers have also expressed interest. Investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary recently revealed that a consortium he and billionaire Frank McCourt assembled had offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for TikTok.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban on Friday, and Trump has pledged to finalize TikTok’s fate “soon.” As the January deadline looms, the app’s availability to its more than 170 million U.S. users remains uncertain.