The battle over TikTok’s future in the U.S. has spanned two presidencies and reflects growing concerns over data privacy and national security.
In 2021, President Biden revoked Trump’s initial executive order to ban TikTok and instead launched a broader national security review of apps controlled by foreign adversaries. Then, in late 2023, Biden signed a new law that would effectively ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold the app to a U.S.-approved buyer. The law gave ByteDance 180 days to divest TikTok—or face a nationwide ban starting Sunday, January 19.
As the deadline approached, Biden signaled that while he would not enforce the ban, he also wouldn’t sign an extension—leaving the decision to the next administration. With its future hanging in the balance, TikTok made the decision to shut down the app for U.S. users on January 18, the day before the ban was set to take effect. Service was restored approximately 14 hours later, after the company received confirmation from the incoming administration that the ban would not be enforced.
After returning to office on January 20, President Trump granted TikTok an initial 75-day extension, giving the company until April 5 to finalize a sale. As of April 4, 2025, Trump has now granted a second 75-day extension, just ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. This move pushes the cutoff to mid-June, with the President stating that “tremendous progress” has been made on the deal.
According to The Information,,the Trump Administration is now working to finalize a deal that would create a new entity called “TikTok America” that would be approximately 50% owned by new U.S. investors. The company would license TikTok’s algorithm from ByteDance. Current ByteDance investors would hold around a one-third stake, while ByteDance itself would retain a 19.9% share—just below the legal threshold set by last year’s law requiring TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese parent company or face a potential ban.
Updated April 4: In a post on Truth Social, President Trump has confirmed he will sign another 75-day extension to give TikTok time to finalize a deal.
Updated April 3: Vice President JD Vance told Fox & Friends that a deal is in progress, saying, “It’ll come out before the deadline. I think we’re in a good place. We’re going to keep working at it.”
According to The Information, the proposed plan involves creating a new entity—likely named TikTok America—that would be approximately 50% owned by new U.S. investors. The company would license TikTok’s algorithm from ByteDance. Current ByteDance investors would hold around a one-third stake, while ByteDance itself would retain a 19.9% share—just below the legal threshold set by last year’s law requiring TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese parent company or face a potential ban.
Updated April 1: TikTok faces another potential ban as the April 5th deadline to sell to a U.S.-based company approaches. While Oracle is widely considered the leading contender, neither company has officially confirmed a deal. President Trump made statements indicating that he would sign another extension on the bill, saying he would "like to see TikTok remain alive." As of now, an extension is expected to provide TikTok with additional time to finalize the sale.
Updated January 20
As expected, President Trump granted TikTok a 75-day extension, giving the company until early April to finalize a sale. While Apple and Google have declined to support the app in their stores due to liability concerns—making it unavailable for new downloads or users who deleted it during its downtime—TikTok remains accessible to U.S. users. Oracle, which provides back-end support for the platform, accepted assurances from Trump that they won’t face penalties for continuing their services, allowing the app to stay operational.
Updated January 19, 4 PM CST
TikTok has been restored to U.S. users with limited functionality, TikTok Live Streaming is still unavailable. CapCut remains down.
Updated January 19, 12:30 PM CST
TikTok has begun restoring service to U.S. users. President-Elect Donald Trump is expected to sign an Executive Order on his first day in office to offer TikTok a 90-day extension to make a sale.
Updated January 19, 10 AM CST
U.S. users initially received an in-app message stating:
“Important Updates from TikTok: We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We're working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
This message was later amended to:
“Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
TikTok has indicated that discussions with the incoming administration are underway, and the shutdown is expected to be temporary. The app could potentially return as early as Monday, January 20. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed this to NBC News, stating, “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done.”
Currently, any users who created their TikTok accounts in the U.S. have been banned from accessing the app. Creators Tara Michelle (Canada) and Mary Skinner (Scotland) shared on Instagram that despite now living abroad, they are unable to access their accounts that were created when they lived in the U.S. However, they were still able to use the app and have the option to create new accounts. Skinner also confirmed that U.S.-based accounts remain visible and accessible to international users, suggesting that this data has not been deleted and users will likely regain access to their original accounts if the ban is lifted.
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Popular editing app CapCut, also owned by ByteDance, is currently down for U.S. users. For those seeking alternative editing platforms, check out our Instagram post for recommendations.
If you have TikTok posts scheduled to auto-post, it is likely that these posts will not be published. We're actively monitoring for any changes in functionality and working on solutions to support your social media strategy. All your other connected social media platforms will continue to function normally, and we recommend rescheduling your TikTok content for a later date or repurposing it for other platforms until the ban is resolved.
Be patient. All signs point to the ban being temporary, and it’s likely that U.S. users will regain access to their accounts, at least for a period of 90 days.
Let this be a reminder of the value in diversifying your social media presence. Use this time to explore strategies for other platforms like Instagram and YouTube, or find new ways to stay connected with your community like an email newsletter or a membership via your Creator Store.
We’ll continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
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