TikTok's Future in the US: Uncertainty and a Possible Extension

President-elect Donald Trump hinted at granting TikTok a 90-day extension to keep the app running beyond its scheduled ban on Sunday. The outgoing Biden administration believes this responsibility lies with Trump, who takes office on Monday and has promised to "save" the app. The law allows the sitting president to extend the deadline if a sale is in progress. Perplexity AI has submitted a proposal to ByteDance, suggesting a merger with TikTok's U. S. business. This new structure would retain ByteDance's shareholders and require rebuilding TikTok's algorithm, estimated to be worth over $50 billion without it.

The U. S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on TikTok unless ByteDance divests its U. S. holdings. TikTok and its users argue this violates the First Amendment, while the Biden administration sees it as a national security threat. Despite TikTok's popularity, with a majority of U. S. teens and a third of adults using it, the app's future in the U. S. remains uncertain. The ban could lead to financial losses and the departure of talented employees.

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