• Source:JND
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US President Donald Trump has declared that a buyer for TikTok has been found, but he would not say who it is, adding new uncertainty for millions of American users as a possible nationwide ban looms. Appearing on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Trump stated the purchaser is a group of "very rich people" and that he would name them "within about two weeks." He also stated that approval from China would most probably be required to complete the deal.

Trump said the pact needs to get the green light from Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I think President Xi will probably do it," Trump said in the interview broadcast on Sunday. The announcement comes after Trump extended ByteDance’s deadline to sell its US operations to September 17, despite a 2024 US law mandating that TikTok must be sold or shut down. A previous plan to spin off TikTok’s US operations fell apart earlier this year after Beijing signalled its disapproval amid rising trade tensions.

According to the existing law, TikTok has to be shut down within the US if ByteDance fails to conclude a sale or make significant progress. A Supreme Court hearing this month heard that TikTok might "go dark" overnight if the ban goes ahead. The company is prepared to block access and show a shutdown notice, suggesting users download their data, like the ban notice Indian users received in 2020, Reuters reports. Although the law doesn't penalize people who use the app, it does bar app stores and third-party vendors from hosting it. That would halt new downloads, but already downloaded users could continue to open up the app, although since they would no longer be getting updates, it would eventually become buggy, insecure, and unreliable.

What Do TikTok Users Need to Do Now?

Quite a few US consumers might use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to circumvent blockages by disguising their location. Kate Ruane of the Center for Democracy and Technology explained that VPNs might be legal, but she cautioned about compromised video quality. "There will be distance that data has to travel, which can degrade the service," Ruane explained. Bruce Randall Donald, a professor at Duke University, said VPNs are not as strong on cell phones, the heart of TikTok's audience. "VPNs aren't as good on iPhones or Android phones. The experience will probably be smoother on a laptop — but TikTok on a laptop is not the same," he said.

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers, headed by Senator Ed Markey, have just filed the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act to postpone the ban by 270 days. Nonetheless, analysts opine that it's not going to make it through Congress on time since the initial ban was bipartisan. "There would still be high legal risk for businesses," Ruane explained. "If a new government does a U-turn, they could be fined big-time."

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Although there are some legal and technical loopholes, TikTok's user experience could deteriorate fast. Glitches, security loopholes, and sluggishness might drive creators and users to the competition. Unless a deal at the eleventh hour ora  new policy appears, numerous influencers are already backing up their material and looking for alternative measures.