U.S. President Trump has once again extended the grace period for the implementation of the "sell or be banned" law against TikTok, postponing it until December 16.
On the 16th, he signed an executive order, extending the grace period for the TikTok ban for the fourth time.
Earlier that day, he told the media that the U.S. and China had reached a framework agreement on TikTok's operations, and the U.S. side would soon announce a buyer. "Several large companies are interested in acquiring TikTok."
In April 2024, then-U.S. President Biden signed a "sell or be banned" bill passed by both houses of Congress, requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese enterprises within 270 days, otherwise the app would be banned in the U.S. after January 19, 2025.
After the Trump administration took office, the ban was postponed three times—in January, April, and June this year—to deal with complex legal and national security issues arising from TikTok's operations in the U.S.
Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that the U.S.-China agreement is similar to the plan drafted in April this year, which would allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., with its U.S. business transferred from ByteDance to American investors.
The basic framework of the new agreement is similar to the April version, including ByteDance retaining a maximum single stake of 19.9%, slightly below the legal threshold of 20%; its U.S. operations may still continue using ByteDance's algorithm technology.