TikTok will be banned in the U.S. in September if China doesn't approve U.S. app sale, Trump official warns
American users of TikTok could lose access to the popular video-sharing platform if China does not approve a sale transferring majority ownership to U.S. interests by September 17, according to a warning issued by Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary under former President Donald Trump.
TikTok may be banned in the U.S. by September 17 unless China agrees to a sale giving American owners control, warns Trump official Howard Lutnick.
Getty Images
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Lutnick confirmed that U.S. policymakers are unified in their decision to block foreign-controlled platforms from dominating domestic digital infrastructure. “You can’t have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones,” he said. The Trump administration's stance hinges on national data sovereignty, with Lutnick emphasizing that any solution must include full U.S. control over TikTok’s technology and algorithm.
The looming deadline follows a bipartisan law passed in 2024 and enacted on January 19, 2025, which bars American companies from hosting or distributing apps that remain under the control of foreign adversaries, including ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company. President Joe Biden signed the law amid concerns that foreign ownership poses a significant national security risk, especially in platforms collecting vast user data.
To prevent an outright ban, the Trump administration has extended the compliance deadline through three executive orders, the most recent of which delays enforcement until mid-September. These delays are intended to provide time for negotiating a legally acceptable restructure of TikTok's American operations that could satisfy both U.S. legal standards and Chinese regulatory approvals.
Speaking to Fox News on June 29, Trump stated that a group of "very, very wealthy people" had been identified as potential buyers of the U.S. division of TikTok. He acknowledged the need for Beijing’s approval, expressing optimism that President Xi Jinping would agree to the arrangement. However, Trump declined to name the investors, promising to reveal them “in about two weeks”—a disclosure that has yet to occur.
This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted TikTok. During his first term, he attempted to enforce a similar ban unless its U.S. assets were transferred to American companies. Since returning to the political stage, Trump’s position has softened somewhat, crediting the app with helping build support among young voters in the 2024 election.
ByteDance continues to push back on allegations that it poses a threat to U.S. national interests. The company reports that 60% of its shares are owned by global institutional investors such as BlackRock, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group. Founders in China retain a 20% stake, while employees—including many in the United States—hold the remaining 20%. Despite these figures, U.S. law prohibits platforms from operating in the country if at least 20% of their ownership is linked to individuals or entities based in a designated foreign adversary nation.
During a 2023 congressional hearing, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reiterated that ByteDance is not influenced by the Chinese Communist Party and categorically denied allegations that user data is shared with the Chinese government. “ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government,” Chew said. “There is an inaccurate belief that TikTok’s corporate structure makes it beholden to the Chinese government or that it shares information about U.S. users. This is emphatically untrue.”
