TikTok ban: all the news on the app’s shutdown and return in the US

Dec 19, 2025 08:30 AM - 5 months ago 164449
  • Emma Roth

    The TikTok US waste is yet happening

    Photo collage of the TikTok logo complete a photograph of the US Capitol building.

    Photo collage of the TikTok logo complete a photograph of the US Capitol building.

    Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

    TikTok has finalized a woody to waste capable of its US business fulfill the divest-or-ban law, arsenic initially reported by Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, and CNBC. According to a memo sent from CEO Shou Zi Chew to labor (included successful afloat below) connected Thursday, they are targeting a closing day of January 22nd, 2026. Once the woody is done, he writes that ownership stakes successful TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will break down arsenic follows:

    After TikTok briefly went acheronian successful the US successful January, President Donald Trump granted TikTok a series of extensions to travel up pinch a woody to waste a liking successful its US-based operations. The US and China yet agreed connected a “framework” for a woody successful September, starring to yet different hold that expired connected December 16th.

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  • Lauren Feiner

    Even the lawmakers down the TikTok prohibition person nary thought what’s going on

    Photo illustration of the Capitol building adjacent to the TikTok logo.

    Photo illustration of the Capitol building adjacent to the TikTok logo.

    Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

    Less than 2 years ago, TikTok was a situation business connected Capitol Hill. The chair of the House Select Committee connected China called it “digital fentanyl” that brainwashes young Americans into supporting Hamas. A erstwhile nationalist information advisor said letting TikTok stay successful the US nether its Chinese proprietor “would beryllium akin to allowing Soviet power of respective awesome American newspapers and TV channels during the Cold War.” Lawmakers near classified nationalist information briefings astir TikTok sharing sedate concerns. All of it culminated successful the surprise frenzy of a bipartisan bill forcing Chinese genitor institution ByteDance to waste the app aliases look a ban, which swiftly became law.

    But astir a twelvemonth aft the app should person been kicked retired of the US, TikTok remains wide available, acknowledgment to involution from the management of President Donald Trump. A promised acquisition by US investors, brokered done Trump, has been stalled for months. And the lawmakers who passed the prohibition are mostly staying quiet.

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  • Terrence O'Brien

    TikTok is conscionable different instrumentality successful Larry Ellison’s quest to tally the world

    Oracle Hosts Its Annual Open World Conference

    Oracle Hosts Its Annual Open World Conference

    Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images

    For astir of his profession Larry Ellison has been contented to softly fto Oracle beryllium the company, down the company, down the exertion that makes headlines. Its biggest products being unreality computing and database products that it sells to endeavor customers for illustration DHL, Northwell Health, and Fanatics. But, now successful his 80s, Ellison has begun a 2nd enactment shifting from Silicon Valley pioneer, to media mogul.

    Compared to galore of the different group astatine the apical of the Forbes Billionaires list, Larry Ellison tends to support a debased profile. That’s not to opportunity he hasn’t seen his adjacent stock of headlines, particularly successful caller years. But he, and his institution Oracle, aren’t being routinely dragged in beforehand of congress for high profile shouting matches, aliases being accused of ruining an full generation of children successful op-ed pages.

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  • Emma Roth

    The TikTok woody raises much questions than answers

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    STK051_TIKTOKBAN2_CVirginia_A

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    Following months of delays, President Donald Trump has signed an executive bid that’s expected to “save” TikTok. Trump claims the woody will make the app “American-operated,” fulfilling the divest-or-ban rule that threatened the China-owned app’s beingness successful the US. But the Trump management didn’t uncover immoderate accusation astir who will ain TikTok’s US operations, aliases really overmuch they’ll own. And questions stay astir whether the caller statement — and the steps taken to get location — is moreover legal.

    “The TikTok saga has been the azygous clearest articulation, the azygous astir vivid illustration of the lawlessness of this administration, of its imperial conception of itself arsenic supra the norm of law,” Alan Rozenshtein, a rule professor astatine the University of Minnesota Law School, tells The Verge. During an interview, Rozenshtein calls into mobility Trump’s repeated deadline extensions that pushed backmost the enforcement of the TikTok prohibition law.

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  • Emma Roth

    Trump signs ‘Saving TikTok’ bid to commencement resolving its large prohibition problem

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    STK051_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_2_tiktok

    Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

    President Donald Trump has signed an executive order recognizing the model of a woody betwixt ByteDance and the US that would fulfill the TikTok divest-or-ban law. The woody values TikTok’s US operations astatine $14 cardinal and puts it nether the power of companies based successful the US.

    “I said pinch President Xi [Jinping], we had a bully talk,” Trump said during a briefing. “I told him what we were doing, and he said, ‘Go up pinch it.’”

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  • Terrence O'Brien

    Some specifications of the TikTok woody person been worked out.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that six of the 7 committee seats will beryllium held by Americans, ByteDance clasp little than a 20-percent stake, and that Americans’ information will beryllium stored successful the US pinch nary entree springiness to China.

    “So each of those specifications person already been agreed upon, now we conscionable request this woody to beryllium signed and that will beryllium happening, I anticipate, successful the coming days.”

  • Sean Hollister

    Trump claims the US is astir to get a tremendous interest for taking TikTok retired of China

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    A 10 percent liking successful Intel, 15 percent of Nvidia’s China sales, a “golden share” of Nippon Steel — what value will Trump extract adjacent successful speech for favorable treatment? Well, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Trump Administration is “expected to cod a multibillion-dollar fee” successful speech for negotiating a US takeover of TikTok’s US business.

    That interest will reportedly travel from TikTok’s US investors, including backstage equity patient Silver Lake and Oracle, pinch the caller group getting half of TikTok, while TikTok China’s genitor institution ByteDance would still person nether 20 percent.

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  • Adi Robertson

    So… is location a TikTok woody aliases not?

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    STK051_TIKTOKBAN2_CVirginia_A

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    China and the US person “made progress” connected granting support for ByteDance to waste TikTok to an American consortium, fulfilling a nine-months-overdue ineligible requirement. After saying a tentative woody had been reached Monday and that support would travel Friday, President Donald Trump’s management has issued an update that leaves the existent position ambiguous and the specifications bare-bones.

    “I conscionable completed a very productive telephone pinch President Xi of China. We made advancement connected galore very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the request to bring the War betwixt Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the support of the TikTok Deal,” Trump posted connected Truth Social, noting he and Xi Jinping would meet astatine the APEC Summit successful Korea successful October. “The telephone was a very bully one, we will beryllium speaking again by phone, admit the TikTok approval, and some look guardant to gathering astatine APEC!”

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  • Richard Lawler

    Trump extends the TikTok prohibition enforcement deadline again.

    As he has ever since taking office, Donald Trump again ordered the DOJ to disregard enforcing the TikTok prohibition law, this clip until December 16th.

    The president claims a woody is close, which the WSJ reports will manus power to a US consortium of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreesen Horowitz.

  • Emma Roth

    The China-US woody for TikTok could return different period to activity out

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    STK051_TIKTOKBAN2_CVirginia_A

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    TikTok mightiness not finalize its woody to waste its US operations for astatine slightest different month. Sources tell CNBC’s David Faber that the US and China mightiness adjacent connected an statement wrong the adjacent 30 to 45 days, while Oracle will stay the app’s unreality partner, allowing it to continue routing US personification data connected American servers.

    On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the US and China have reached a “framework deal” for TikTok. He added that President Donald Trump would corroborate the woody connected Friday — 2 days aft TikTok’s latest deadline to divest expires. Trump has already fixed TikTok three extensions to discuss a deal, and it’s unclear whether he’ll assistance TikTok different while the institution finalizes an agreement.

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  • Emma Roth

    The US and China mightiness yet person a TikTok deal

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    STK051_TIKTOKBAN_CVirginia_B

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    The US and China person reached a “framework” woody to divest TikTok from its Chinese genitor company, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters during waste and acquisition talks successful Madrid connected Monday. As noted by Reuters, Bessent confirmed that “the model is for a move to a US-controlled ownership.” He said Trump will corroborate the woody pinch Chinese President Xi Jinping connected Friday — 2 days aft the latest deadline to waste aliases prohibition the app.

    The preliminary woody comes aft months of rocky negotiations betwixt TikTok and the Trump administration. The app faced a prohibition successful January, but President Donald Trump granted TikTok an extension to activity retired a woody to waste its operations successful the US, arsenic required by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Trump granted TikTok two more extensions after that, giving it until September 17th to scope an agreement. It’s chartless whether he will formally widen the deadline aliases see this announcement capable to count arsenic a divestiture; it’s besides unclear whether the woody will fulfill the requirements laid retired successful the law.

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  • Tina Nguyen

    The White House conscionable joined TikTok

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    STK175_DONALD_TRUMP_CVIRGINIA_C

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

    While it was President Joe Biden who signed the rule that would unit ByteDance to waste its liking successful TikTok aliases face a ban, it’s his successor, Donald Trump, who has yet to fulfill his committedness of arranging a woody to support TikTok running, legally, successful the United States. The existent deadline for a woody is September 17th. Still, it hasn’t stopped Trump’s management from creating @WhiteHouse connected TikTok, which published its first station connected Tuesday night: a video celebrating Trump’s accomplishments.

    The prohibition has only seen TikTok unopen down successful the US for 1 day, and its effect has been delayed 3 times. The first clip was successful January, erstwhile Trump took agency and signed an executive bid delaying enforcement of the prohibition for 75 days; past location was different hold successful April, after a imaginable woody fell done owed to Trump’s harsh tariffs against China, and past successful June, erstwhile he stated that he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping was unfastened to a deal if a purchaser emerged.

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  • Sarah Jeong

    Palestine was the problem pinch TikTok

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    257898_Tiktok_ban_Gaza_CVirginia_E

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    In the past month, the warfare successful Gaza has go an inescapable facet of the nationalist consciousness arsenic a caller surge of images of Palestinian children — their faces impossibly sunken, their limbs reduced to tegument and bony — flooded the internet. As the pictures became ubiquitous, the outcry became louder than ever.

    These conditions of utmost deprivation are not new: successful November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an apprehension warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for utilizing starvation arsenic a method of war. Nevertheless, the business now is piercing the mainstream successful a measurement that charismatic charges of warfare crimes could not. Maybe it was the video of guards astatine a nutrient assistance distribution tract utilizing stun grenades, capsicum spray, and unrecorded ammunition connected crowds of quiet Palestinians. Or possibly it was the news, 2 weeks later, that 20 Palestinians had been killed — mostly by trampling — erstwhile a crowd astatine a distribution tract panicked arsenic stun grenades were utilized connected them. Or perchance it was the unfastened missive from the European news agency AFP, informing that its last remaining journalists successful Gaza were astatine imminent consequence of decease by starvation. “Since AFP was founded successful 1944, we person mislaid journalists successful conflicts, immoderate person been injured, others taken prisoner. But nary of america tin ever retrieve seeing colleagues dice of hunger,” the agency wrote.

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  • Lauren Feiner

    Senator proposes calling disconnected the TikTok prohibition — legally.

    President Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored the bipartisan rule banning TikTok from operating successful the US unless it’s separated from Chinese genitor institution ByteDance. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling for a caller measurement to debar a prohibition without breaking the law. In a draft bill, Markey proposes letting TikTok run successful the US arsenic agelong arsenic it provides transparency into its contented moderation and keeps US personification information retired of countries for illustration China.

  • Richard Lawler

    TikTok’s ‘ban’ problem could extremity soon pinch a caller app and a sale

    Photo illustration of Tik Tok logo successful a prohibition symbol.

    Photo illustration of Tik Tok logo successful a prohibition symbol.

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    Even pinch the TikTok divest-or-ban law officially successful effect since January, the app has only shut down service successful the US for 1 day. Now, The Information reports that an statement for a waste satisfying the law’s requirements is adjacent and would travel pinch a new, abstracted type of the app.

    Any deal, however, would request support from the Chinese government, which is besides still wrangling pinch the Trump management complete tariffs.

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  • Adi Robertson

    Here are the letters that convinced Google and Apple to support TikTok online

    President Trump Speaks On Recent Supreme Court Rulings At The White House

    President Trump Speaks On Recent Supreme Court Rulings At The White House

    Getty Images

    A Freedom of Information Act petition has produced letters that the US Department of Justice sent to Google, Apple, Amazon, and respective different companies successful bid to assuage their concerns astir breaking a rule that banned US web services from moving pinch TikTok.

    The documents — obtained by Zhaocheng Anthony Tan, a Google shareholder who sued for their merchandise earlier this twelvemonth — show Attorney General Pam Bondi and her predecessor Acting Attorney General James McHenry III promising to merchandise companies from work for violating the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which required US companies to prohibition TikTok from app stores and different platforms aliases look hundreds of billions of dollars successful fines. The rule was intended to unit a waste of TikTok from its Chinese genitor company, ByteDance, owed to nationalist information concerns.

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  • Adi Robertson

    The TikTok prohibition is banned, again.

    The incredibly weird saga of the ordered, past reversed, past passed, past upheld, past ignored, past ignored moreover harder effort to prohibition 1 of America’s astir celebrated societal networks continues — arsenic it will proceed until US-China tensions cool down, everyone forgets it ever happened, aliases the power decease of the universe.

    Trump gives TikTok different prohibition extension

  • Lauren Feiner

    Trump gives TikTok different prohibition extension

    Photo illustration of Tik Tok app icon being deleted.

    Photo illustration of Tik Tok app icon being deleted.

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    For the third time, President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok to rotation retired from its Chinese genitor institution aliases look a US ban. As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed successful a connection Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order connected Thursday extending the deadline different 90 days, landing the caller deadline successful mid-September.

    The Trump management will walk the adjacent 90 days “working to guarantee this woody is closed truthful that the American group tin proceed to usage TikTok pinch the assurance that their information is safe and secure,” Leavitt said.

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  • Emma Roth

    Trump says he’d hold the TikTok prohibition again.

    During an question and reply on NBC’s Meet the Press, President Donald Trump said he’d “be willing” to extend TikTok’s June 19th deadline if its China-based genitor company, ByteDance, doesn’t scope a woody to divest the app’s US business successful time. China backed retired of a imaginable deal past period aft Trump imposed up to 145 percent tariffs connected equipment imported from the country.

  • Jay Peters

    Trump apparently wants to “just delay” a TikTok deal.

    That’s according to Semafor’s White House analogous Shelby Talcott. The TikTok turmoil is conscionable going to spell connected forever, huh?

  • Wes Davis

    The US told Apple to support TikTok successful the App Store.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Apple a missive “telling the institution it should travel President Donald Trump’s executive order” extending ByteDance’s deadline to waste TikTok by 75 much days, reports Bloomberg. The outlet had reported a akin missive sent to some Google and Apple anterior to their determination to reconstruct the app to their online marketplaces successful February, too.

  • Alex Heath

    Trump’s tariffs killed his TikTok deal

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    Earlier this week, erstwhile it seemed arsenic though TikTok’s destiny successful the US would really beryllium decided by April 5th, everyone — from Amazon to the laminitis of OnlyFans — was coming retired of the woodwork to bargain it.

    As it turns out, nary of them had a chance. And now, acknowledgment to President Donald Trump’s tariff war, nary 1 whitethorn get to bargain TikTok.

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  • Lauren Feiner

    Trump’s TikTok hold is ‘against the law’ apical Senate Intelligence Democrat says

    Photo collage of the TikTok logo complete a photograph of the US Capitol building.

    Photo collage of the TikTok logo complete a photograph of the US Capitol building.

    Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

    President Donald Trump’s additional 75 time delay to TikTok’s sale-or-ban deadline leaves work providers for illustration Apple, Google, and Oracle connected shaky ground, and, according to 1 influential Democrat, is straight-up “against the law.”

    After Trump announced the hold connected Friday, 12 Republican members of the House Select Committee connected China, including Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI), released a associated connection successful response. The connection did not reside ineligible concerns pinch the 2nd extension, but it said that “any solution must guarantee that U.S. rule is followed, and that the Chinese Communist Party does not person entree to American personification information aliases the expertise to manipulate the contented consumed by Americans.” The missive says signatories “look guardant to much details” connected a projected deal.

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  • Richard Lawler

    Trump delays TikTok prohibition again

    Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

    Donald Trump’s first 75-day hold against enforcement of the TikTok ban rule would’ve expired this weekend, but connected Friday, he announced connected Truth Social that “I americium signing an Executive Order to support TikTok up and moving for an further 75 days.”

    This week, Trump announced caller taxes connected products coming into the US, including a 34 percent tariff complaint against China. He has said that he would see lowering that complaint successful speech for China agreeing to a TikTok deal, but pinch the deadline closing in, it’s Trump who decided to widen the hold alternatively of having TikTok’s app unopen down again.

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  • Richard Lawler

    ‘TikTok America,’ Amazon, and different rumors astir who mightiness bargain TikTok

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    STK051_TIKTOKBAN_B_CVirginia_A.jpg

    After President Donald Trump pushed backmost a deadline for banning TikTok in January, the 75-day hold will tally retired connected April 5th, but there’s still nary connection connected a woody that could fulfill the rule by shifting power of TikTok distant from its Chinese genitor company, ByteDance.

    The Information reports that later today, Trump plans to denote a scheme for “TikTok America,” a caller institution pinch 50 percent ownership by unnamed caller US investors, a one-third liking for existing ByteDance investors, and a 19.9 percent stock for ByteDance. It would apparently licence TikTok’s algorithm from ByteDance.

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