No more extensions.
TikTok will “go dark” if China does not cut a deal with the Trump administration that transfers control of the app’s technology and algorithm, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday.
Lutnick was discussing the ongoing TikTok negotiation during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, is currently facing a Sept. 17 deadline to offload the app’s American operation or face being banned in the States.
“We’ve made the decision: you can’t have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones. That’s just not okay,” Lutnick said.
He continued: “So if it’s in American control, and, you know, China can have a little piece, or ByteDance, the current owner, can keep a little piece. But basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm.”
His comments come after TikTok has received multiple extensions from the president to reach a deal on selling its U.S. app.
TikTok was initially set to be banned on Jan. 19, after President Joe Biden signed a law last year requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s American operation. The chief concern lawmakers had was that TikTok could act as a stealth spyware app for China’s communist government, as ByteDance is required by Chinese law to hand over any user data the government asks for.
President Trump, on his first day back in office on Jan. 20, gave TikTok a 75-day extension to make a deal, and the app’s future in the U.S. has remained in limbo ever since. The president gave TikTok a second extension in April, and then another one last month, making Sept. 17 the latest deadline.
In late June, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump’s “main goal” is making sure TikTok remains available in the U.S. — “while protecting [Americans’] privacy and security.” TikTok has said it has 170 million American users.
On Thursday, Lutnick said TikTok is “not really” part of a larger trade deal being discussed with China. But he also said it is hard for the topic to not come up “unofficially” during discussions with Chinese diplomats.
You can watch part of Lutnick’s CNBC appearance by clicking here.
