The fate of TikTok, once again, hangs in the balance.
In one week, on April 5, President Donald Trump’s extension delaying a ban on the short-form video app TikTok will expire. If the app is not divested by its Chinese parent company ByteDance by this deadline, the app could go dark again, as it did in January. As of Friday, no final plans for the app’s sale had been shared.
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.
“If it’s not finished, it’s not a big deal. We’ll just extend it,” he said.
As the deadline looms, here’s what to know about proposed plans for the app’s sale.
Will TikTok get banned on April 5?
If ByteDance does not divest TikTok by April 5, then it could be banned in the United States again. However, Trump has stated that if a sale is not finalized in time, he will extend the deadline.
Can Trump extend the TikTok deadline again?
Under the federal legislation that put the ban in place, the president can implement a 90-day extension on the deadline to sell. However, Trump didn’t take this route in January; instead, he signed an executive order delaying the ban by 75 days. If Trump wishes to sign another executive order ahead of the April 5 deadline, he can.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 26, 2025.
Senators urge Trump to work with Congress to save TikTok
On Monday, three Democratic senators sent a letter to Trump, asking the president to work with Congress on “any potential resolutions to the TikTok ban.”
“To the extent that you continue trying to delay the divestment deadline through executive orders, any further extensions of the TikTok deadline will require Oracle, Apple, Google and other companies to continue risking ruinous legal liability,” it states.
The letter, signed by Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and New Jersey Sen. Cory A. Booker, asks Trump to urge Republican senators to approve the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act. Introduced in January just days before the initial ban, the act, if passed, would extend the TikTok sale deadline to Oct. 16, 2025.
Who has expressed interest in purchasing TikTok?
Earlier this month, Trump told journalists that his administration was working with “four different groups” interested in purchasing TikTok but didn’t elaborate further. Here’s who has expressed public interest in the app recently:
Project Liberty
Frank McCourt, civic entrepreneur, executive chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024.
Project Liberty, an organization led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt with the intention of “constructing a new internet infrastructure,” submitted a bid to ByteDance earlier this year. In addition to McCourt, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian have committed to the bid.
MrBeast
A consortium of investors led by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley also submitted a bid to ByteDance earlier this year. James “Jimmy” Donaldson, the internet superstar more commonly known as MrBeast, is a part of the consortium, according to a news release from law firm Paul Hastings.
YouTuber MrBeast attends the premiere of the new Amazon Prime Video competition series, “Beast Games” on Dec. 18, 2024 in Santa Monica, California.
The most popular creator on YouTube, Donaldson jokingly posted about purchasing the platform the week before the January ban. After the post gained traction, he posted again, saying that “so many billionaires” had reached out to him. As of Friday, the content creator had “New CEO of TikTok?” in his TikTok bio.
Perplexity AI
U.S.-based search engine Perplexity AI proposed a merger in January, according to Reuters. Rather than a sale, the merger would result in a new entity − a culmination of Perplexity AI and TikTok.
Bobby Kotick, Doug McMillon, Microsoft and Rumble
Others who have expressed interest in purchasing the platform but have not made bids include Bobby Kotick, former CEO of video game company Activision; Doug McMillon, Walmart CEO; Microsoft, which proposed purchasing the platform with Walmart in 2020; and conservative video streaming platform Rumble.
Does Elon Musk want to buy TikTok?
While Trump has previously shown support for Elon Musk purchasing TikTok, Musk says he isn’t interested.
Why is TikTok facing a ban again?
In late January, TikTok went dark for a little more than 12 hours in the United States after the app was effectively banned under federal legislation. U.S. internet hosting services made TikTok unavailable to access and app stores removed the app for download.
This federal legislation was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2024. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act gave parent company ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025 to divest TikTok or face the ban. Some political officials have seen TikTok as a national security threat for years, expressing concern that ByteDance may be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. ByteDance has repeatedly denied these claims, which thus far remain unsubstantiated.
Though previously in favor of a ban on TikTok, especially during his first administration, Trump began saying he could “save” the app after winning the 2024 presidential election.
During the temporary January shutdown, Trump promised internet hosting services and app stores that they could restore TikTok and not face legal penalties. Most waited until the following month to restore access, however, fearing repercussions. Under the federal legislation, companies could be fined $5,000 per user they help access TikTok. For companies like Google and Apple, this could mean a $5,000 fine for each user who downloads or updates TikTok.
Internet hosting services like Oracle didn’t waste time rebooting the app, but it wasn’t until Feb. 13 that TikTok became available again in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Contributing: Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will TikTok be banned again? Trump doesn’t think so. Here’s what we know
