U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that TikTok will be forced to shut down in the United States unless China approves a deal to sell the platform’s American operations. The popular short-form video app, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, currently serves about 170 million U.S. users.
Speaking on CNBC, Lutnick emphasized that the U.S. must gain control over the app’s core algorithm, which powers its highly personalized content delivery.
President Donald Trump recently extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by 90 days, pushing it to September 17. This comes despite a 2024 law that originally required a sale or shutdown by January 19, unless significant progress was made.
“China can keep a small stake, or ByteDance can retain a minor share,” Lutnick explained. “But at the end of the day, Americans will control the company, the technology, and the algorithm.”
He added, “If China approves the deal, it moves forward. If not, TikTok will go dark in the U.S. — and that decision is coming very soon.”
TikTok has yet to respond to the comments.
A proposed agreement earlier this year aimed to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new, American-led company. However, that plan stalled when China signaled opposition, reportedly in response to President Trump’s recent push for hefty tariffs on Chinese imports.
