Trump to discuss ByteDance divesting TikTok's US operations ahead of Apr. 5 deadline for ban

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to hold a meeting on Wednesday (Apr. 2) to discuss a potential proposal for divesting TikTok's U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

The development, first reported by CBC News, comes just days ahead of an Apr. 5 deadline for the popular social media app used by some 170 million Americans.

The Trump administration is reviewing a potential deal that could include Blackstone and Oracle, and potentially other investors in a joint venture, Bloomberg reported, citing an anonymous source.

The meeting will include key administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Apr. 5 deadline

Trump faces an Apr. 5 deadline for TikTok's U.S. operations to find a non-Chinese buyer or potentially face a ban in the U.S. market.

A bill was passed last year to sell the popular social media app by Jan. 19, 2025, but Trump signed an executive order to extend the deadline to Apr. 5.

It is not known if ByteDance and Chinese officials have been involved in the discussions.

However, Bloomberg reported that Beijing authorities would likely approve a deal involving Oracle, provided that TikTok's algorithm stays completely under Chinese control.

Oracle has already developed a substantial cloud infrastructure to work with TikTok as part of a partnership known as Project Texas.

The company was also tasked to assist TikTok in isolating sensitive U.S. user data from ByteDance, though the plan ultimately failed to gain approval from Washington regulators.

"I'd like to see TikTok remain alive"

In an interview last month, Vance said he was positive he could deliver a workable proposal before the Apr. 5 deadline, reported NBC News.

“There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise,” Vance said, as quoted by NBC.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday (Mar. 30), Trump said: "We have a lot of potential buyers, there's tremendous interest in TikTok. The decision is going to be my decision."

"I'd like to see TikTok remain alive," he added.

"Gonna save TikTok"

During his tenure in 2020, Trump said he planned to ban TikTok, citing national security concerns.

Four years later, the former President has changed his mind about the popular social media app, even creating his very own TikTok account.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said that he no longer plans to ban the popular social media app and is "gonna save TikTok".

Top image via Donald J. Trump/Facebook