Takotok is once again a conversation with the city and it seems that no one knows what will happen to the favorite app for about 170 million Americans. Tickets are not far from the table yet, if the US does not hand over US investors to US operations.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lotnik made it clear that if China does not approve the proposed deal, Tektok will be forced to stop working in the United States.
China may have a slight piece or baitidance, the current owner, a slight piece. But basically, Americans will have control. The Americans will own this technology, and control the US algorithm. If the deal is approved by the Chinese, it will be a contract. If they do not approve it, then the ticket is going to fall in the dark, and those decisions are coming soon.
– Commerce Secretary Howard Lotnik, July 2025
The current proposal will create a new, US -based version of Techtok, which is owned by US investors and the majority. Although Bitdance can maintain a small stake, the key point of the conflict is algorithm – the software that determines what users see. Lutink stressed that the United States should not only own the company’s infrastructure but also control itself.
This is not the first time that Washington has demanded the acquisition of trick, as you know now. A law passed in 2024 requires biatens to sell or shut down Tuk’s US actions by January 19, 2025. President Trump has delayed this deadline three times, recently expanding September 17. But this flexibility has done very little to advance the deal.
The talks made progress earlier this year, but after China’s gesture he stopped that he would not approve the transaction – especially after the announcement of new taxes on Trump’s Chinese imports. Yes, it is not surprising that this has no effect.
The situation has also drawn legal challenges and political differences. Some Democratic lawmakers say Trump does not have the option to continue to increase the deadline. They also ask whether the proposed agreement will meet the legal requirements of the 2024 law. Meanwhile, Attorney General Palm Bondi sent letters to Apple, Google, and other tech firms that host Techtok, assuring them that if they continue to support the app during the delay, the Justice Department will not take legal action.
Meanwhile, another potential buyer has supported the deal, as we have told you the next day. Blackstone has withdrawn from a group of investors, aimed at handling US operations in Techtok, which cited delays in the US trade tension.
I don’t think any conclusions will be made on September 17, the way things are going.
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