Trump administration threatens to shut TikTok down if it can't make a deal with China

The clock for TikTok is ticking, and it seems the time is almost up.

Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick commented on the TikTok deal with China which seems to be stuck on Chinese approval.

"China can keep a little piece [...] but basically, Americans will have control, Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm," he said. "If that deal gets approved by the Chinese, then that deal will happen, if the don't approve it, then TikTok is gonna go dark."

Lutnick is referring to the potential deal to sell the majority of TikTok to U.S. investors, which President Trump recently said was all but done, with the buyer being "secured" on the U.S. side.

Trump did say at the time that China has to approve such a deal, and now it seems his administration is running out of patience.

"Those decisions are coming very soon, so let's see what the Chinese do," said Lutnick.

TikTok has been in limbo for years, with Donald Tump proposing a ban on the app back in 2020, during his first term. The app was ultimately banned under the Biden-signed PAFACA (Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications) act in 2024, though the ban's enforcement kept being delayed, first by Biden, and then later by Trump, who said he would not ban the app and promised to make a deal under which the U.S. would own at least half of TikTok.