Overview

• US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that TikTok will be banned unless Beijing consents to its takeover by U.S. investors soon.
• President Trump granted a further extension in June, moving the divestiture deadline to September 17 after previously reprieving the platform through multiple deadlines.
• Negotiations have stalled over the selection of U.S. investors, control of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, and the size of any ByteDance minority stake.
• A U.S. law passed in January requires that neither ByteDance nor the Chinese government hold algorithmic control if the app is to remain available in U.S. app stores.
• TikTok’s roughly 170 million U.S. users stand to lose access as debates over data privacy and security intensify between Washington and Beijing.