Tiktok’s future in the USA is uncertain

The uncertainty, which has been going on for a long time on Tiktok’s activities in the United States in the United States, once again became complex in the shadow of political tensions this week. The final decision on the sale or prohibition of the application was expected to be made until April 5th. For this reason, many different investors from Amazon to the founder of Onlyfans reportedly came into play with the intention of purchasing the platform. However, according to sources, the White House seriously evaluated a consortium, which was created under the leadership of Oracle, containing large investors of ByTedance.

This proposal, led by Oracle, was intended to show Tiktok’s algorithm developed in China and reorganizing existing shareholder structures as if it were independent of ByTedance. While the plan is expected to be announced to the public, the process of US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new customs tariffs for China brought the process to a stop. Following Trump’s announcement, the probability of approval of the Chinese government to this sales proposal has significantly decreased.

The preference of the White House and the attitude of China

Tiktok’s owner, ByTedance, said in a statement on Friday, any agreement will be considered within the scope of Chinese laws, he said. This statement came after Trump implying the day before China implied that he could accept the agreement in exchange for a relief on tariffs. However, Trump’s assessment was less optimistic about the next day. The trust problem between the parties and the atmosphere of trade war are among the main dynamics that directly affect Tiktok’s future.

The circles who closely follow this process have been tired of Tiktok ban discussions that have been going on for five years. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, known as Trump’s friend, brought up a revised version of the Project Texas security project, which will enable Tiktok to maintain its operations in the United States. However, this version lack previous security promises drew attention. Despite this, the White House did not prioritize security threats, the proposal was seriously handled.

In the light of all these developments, Tiktok’s activities in the United States continue for now. This stems from the fact that the Trump administration has not taken steps in putting the ban into force. On the other hand, Tiktok, such as Apple, Google and Oracle, continues to serve despite the ban approved by the Supreme Court.

Although Tiktok is allowed to operate temporarily, the possibility of completely withdrawing from the US market continues if the tariffs for China are not softened. In this example, how commercial and political tensions between China and the United States affect the global operations of technology companies, once again revealed.