U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that TikTok will have to stop operating in the United States if China does not approve a deal for the sale of the Chinese-owned short video app that is used by some 170 million Americans.
Lutnick, speaking on CNBC, also said the United States must control the algorithm that makes the social media platform work.
Last month, President Donald Trump extended by 90 days to September 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of TikTok. Trump’s action took place despite a 2024 law that mandated a sale or shutdown by January 19 of this year if there had not been significant progress.
“China can have a little piece or ByteDance, the current owner, can keep a little piece. But basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm,” Lutnick said.
“If that deal gets approved, by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If they don’t approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark, and those decisions are coming very soon.”
TikTok did not immediately comment.
A deal had been in the works this spring that would spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors. This stalled after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump has three times granted reprieves from federal enforcement of the law that mandated the sale or shutdown of TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Apple (AAPL.O), and other companies that provide services or host the TikTok app that were made public this month.
The letters said the Justice Department was irrevocably relinquishing any claims against the companies for potential violations of the law, citing Trump’s determination that an abrupt shutdown would interfere with his overseeing national security and foreign affairs.
Some Democratic lawmakers argue Trump has no legal authority to extend the deadline and suggest the deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements.
By Agencies
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