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TikTok Faces Its Day Of Reckoning
Benzinga Tech Trends
September 23, 2025
TikTok has been at the center of one of the fiercest battles in tech, politics and national security. The wildly popular app, with 170 million U.S. users, has faced repeated attempts to ban, regulate, or force it into American hands.
Now, after months of threats, negotiations and shifting deadlines, the showdown over TikTok’s future is reaching its most dramatic stage yet.
The TikTok Deal Taking Shape
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that a high-powered group of American business leaders — including media executive Lachlan Murdoch, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell — will join forces as investors in a proposed U.S. buyout of TikTok.
Trump hailed the trio as “American patriots” and credited TikTok for helping him reach younger voters in his 2024 campaign. The plan would create a U.S.-based joint venture with American investors holding a majority stake, while Chinese parent ByteDance would be capped at less than 20%.
A new board, stacked with directors who have national security and cybersecurity expertise, would oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations.
The White House has also made clear: any deal must fully separate TikTok’s recommendation algorithms from ByteDance to address security concerns.
Source: Giphy
The Timeline And Political Leverage
Congress passed a law in 2024 mandating TikTok’s divestment by January 2025, but Trump declined to enforce it. Instead, he has used TikTok as a bargaining chip in broader trade talks with Beijing.
On Friday, Trump said he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing the call as productive. The two leaders are set to meet face-to-face at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Oct. 31.
In the meantime, Trump extended TikTok’s divestment deadline to Dec. 16, keeping the platform online as negotiations continue.
The back-and-forth reflects the app’s political weight: critics warn TikTok could expose U.S. data or amplify Beijing’s influence, while supporters argue it has already been majority-backed by American investors since 2018.
Rivals Feel The Heat
The news rattled Wall Street on Friday. Shares of Meta Platforms, owner of Instagram and Facebook and Snap Inc. dropped.
Both companies have tried to capitalize on TikTok’s troubles, pushing Instagram Reels and Snapchat Spotlight as alternatives.
However, a U.S.-anchored TikTok with heavyweight American investors could solidify its position as a dominant force in social media, leaving rivals scrambling.
What’s Next For TikTok
TikTok’s day of reckoning now hinges on two key factors: whether Beijing approves the deal, and whether the U.S. enforces a complete algorithmic separation from ByteDance.
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