TikTok Ban: ByteDance Board Member Predicts Deal To Save the App Will Be Soon

As a TikTok ban still looms, ByteDance needs to find a buyer to keep the app from disappearing in the U.S. entirely. While TikTok did go offline for a short time earlier this week, the app quickly reappeared after President Donald Trump promised to give ByteDance more time to offload the U.S. portion of its business.

The company received a 75-day extension through a presidential executive order, which keeps the U.S. government from enforcing the TikTok ban. However, ByteDance will likely get a deal done sooner rather than later. According to ByteDance board member Bill Ford, the purchase of TikTok’s U.S. business is in the best interest of everybody.

“We’ll get on with it, as soon as maybe the end of the week in terms of negotiating what might work,” he said, per Axios. “The Chinese government, the U.S. government, and the company and the board all have to be involved in this conversation.”

Ford also mentioned the potential to explore other options besides selling TikTok.

ByteDance Must Sell App or Face TikTok Ban

When former President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in April, ByteDance had until Jan. 19, 2025, to divest its interest in TikTok U.S. or face a ban. Just days before the ban went into effect, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the law and sided with the U.S. government, meaning a ban or sale must be enforced. ByteDance, however, did not sell it, likely banking on a reversal of the decision by the new Trump administration.

On the day the TikTok ban went into effect, the app went dark for its 170 million U.S. users, causing some slight panic and a switch to similar apps like RedNote and Lemon8. However, later on the same day, TikTok was suddenly back, with a message thanking Donald Trump for saving the app.

Before and after TikTok’s ban deadline, there was a lot of speculation about who might buy it. According to The Hill, employer.com CEO Jesse Tinsley alongside a group of investors that also included YouTube influencer MrBeast were considering buying TikTok. Billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk was also rumored to be in the running to make a deal.

Ultimately, ByteDance will have to consider offers from a buyer or see TikTok get banned in the U.S. However, no official TikTok purchase agreement has yet been made public.