Since the TikTok divestiture or ban legislation took effect in January, the app has only temporarily suspended its services in the United States for a single day. Recent reports from The Information indicate that negotiations are advancing toward an agreement that would not only comply with legal expectations but also involve a new, separate version of the app.
Any potential agreement must receive consent from the Chinese government, which continues to engage in discussions with the Trump administration regarding ongoing tariff disputes.
According to the report, the Trump administration is nearing a solution that would involve a sale to a consortium of investors that are predominantly “non-Chinese,” including tech giant Oracle. The current majority owner, ByteDance, would retain a minority share, which aligns with the stipulations outlined in the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
In a related development, the Wall Street Journal reported today that the General Services Administration has confirmed a new agreement with Oracle, marking a pioneering deal which offers significant discounts on cloud services and licensed software for government use.
TikTok’s team is in the process of developing a new version of the app, referred to internally as M2, which is set to hit app stores on September 5th. Last month, Trump issued a legally ambiguous extension of the deadline to prohibit TikTok from being listed on U.S. app stores, a deadline that will come to a close in mid-September. According to sources quoted by The Information, the existing TikTok app is expected to be removed from app stores coinciding with the launch of the new version, and the original app is slated to cease operation entirely by March 2026.
