The TikTok deal is officially “on the table.” Again.
Months after narrowly avoiding a national ban of the short-form video app, which boasts 170 million American users, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that negotiations to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations are ongoing. “We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies that would do a great job with it,” he told reporters, but the outcome, he said, could be determined by “what’s going to happen with China.”
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has already faced multiple deadlines — the latest extended to June 19 — to divest its U.S. assets or risk having the app banned outright. As political tensions bubble up and negotiations stall, creators and companies are entering a peculiar, self-contradictory style of never-seen-before déjà vu.
The Ban That Wasn’t (Yet)
The January 2025 ban date passed without enforcement.
Apple and Google restored the app after the Justice Department signaled a hands-off approach — but if the last year is anything to go by, TikTok’s future in the U.S. is perhaps more political football than anything else.
Democratic Senators like Ed Markey and Mark Warner have called out the legal limbo, with Warner warning that the reported deal structure would “not meet legal requirements.” Republican Senator Tom Cotton went further, criticizing any American investor who may be considering a “half-assed TikTok deal” and stating, “Congress will never protect you from going into business with Communist China.”
Still, the threat of a ban has already changed behavior and approaches to the app — if not on Capitol Hill, then seemingly on the ground.
Creators in Chaos
TikTok creators may no longer be waiting for the other shoe to drop — they’ve already readied a digital to-go bag.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen with the TikTok ban,” said Elizabeth Jude, a TikTok creator turned entrepreneur. “But if you’re a creator or business using the platform, these are the things you should do to prepare: download your data, start repurposing videos for YouTube and Instagram, and ask your followers to meet you there. Ultimately, it’s never good to put all your eggs in one basket.”
Trend data from Linktree shows that in January 2025, when the platform briefly went dark, there were 1170x increases in creators linking to Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app, and shifts to platforms such as Bluesky (287x), Whatnot (292x increase), Instagram (220x), and Lemon8 (279x). However, in March, engagement around the impending April 5 deadline had dropped off dramatically, with users not ostensibly as concerned with the deadline as had been about the January ban.
“The potential TikTok ban is just the latest reminder: creators don’t own the platforms they build on,” said Lara Cohen, senior vice president at Linktree. “Creators are always renting space on social platforms like TikTok — whether it’s an algorithm shift or a ban, the rules can change overnight.”
‘Glorified Shopping Mall’
This time round, though, the online discourse seems different.
“In January, creators who rely on TikTok for income were trying to redirect their followers to other platforms,” said Jerrica Rowlett, assistant professor of Communications and Language at Bryant University specializing in digital culture and online discourse. “There was also a trend of spilling secrets because they thought the content would be gone on January 19. There was a mourning of the platform for the upcoming loss, with people going as far as creating in memoriam videos and hosting funerals for TikTok. This time, you see none of that.”
There’s much less discourse surrounding the ban now, and an apathy or disbelief has set in, Rowlett said, suggesting that this most likely stems from the feeling of “the boy who cried wolf” which transpired with the first ban. “People prepped for weeks for the ban, prepared for the loss, just for it to almost immediately return. So, there is a sense that this ban either won’t happen or will be short-lived.”
TikTok’s January usage — including a suspiciously timed “thank you” message to Trump, who hadn’t yet taken office as president — and subsequent content moderation changes appear to have only heightened user mistrust.
When TikTok preemptively throttled access earlier this year, it made U.S. users fundamentally distrust TikTok, said Rachel Sterling, CMO of brand infrastructure firm Identity Digital. “Anecdotal chatter online has implied that TikTok feels different from before — it feels more like a glorified shopping mall, and less a platform for people to be entertained and meaningfully connect with each other.”
If creators want loyalty, they’ll prioritize platforms that offer more transparency and control, Sterling added.
Geopolitical Ticking Clock
The ongoing U.S.-China dispute, Beijing’s approval delays, and national security concerns continue to cloud any hopes for a straightforward resolution pathway.
“TikTok’s future is being shaped by intense legal pressure from the U.S. government,” said civil trial attorney C.L. Mike Schmidt. “The potential buyers are looking to navigate both the legal and public scrutiny surrounding the platform. These tech giants will likely be trying to avoid major disruptions to the app’s operation while staying compliant with the law.”
What matters most to the buyer is how to keep the platform’s value intact while minimizing legal risks, added Schmidt. “If the buyer can ensure no major disruptions in the app’s user experience, they’ll have a better chance at long-term success, but any drastic changes could easily backfire, with users quickly abandoning a platform they once enjoyed.”
While TikTok’s data practices warrant scrutiny, focusing solely on one platform without addressing the larger digital privacy landscape risks missing the bigger picture, said Jean-Paul Schmetz, CEO of open-source application Ghostery and board member at Brave.
“TikTok certainly poses a privacy threat and has a large tracking presence — however, it actually poses a much smaller risk from a privacy perspective than a Google or Facebook based on tracking reach,” he said.
The TikTok decision will set a precedent for the industry, said Schmetz. “It’s important that it leads to a more comprehensive conversation about privacy rights, data protection, and the role of government in regulating digital platforms no matter where they come from — if we truly care about protecting user privacy, we need policies that address the full scope of data tracking practices, not just those of one company.”
Change Is The Only Constant
As of now, no official deal has been finalized. Oracle, Amazon, and other potential suitors are reportedly circling, and while the June 19 deadline looms, even that could shift — again.
For creators and small businesses, adaptability is the new currency, said Murad Salikhov, co-founder of Schwarzwald Capital, a venture capital fund focused on fintech and the creator economy. “TikTok features aren’t unique. If a ban happens, creators will adjust to the alternatives.”
For businesses, the situation is similar: remaining active on other social media is crucial, and the alternative opportunities on that front are countless, he added.
“Stay on top of what’s happening,” recommends Greg Song, an expert on emerging media, adding that the goal is to have a solid cross-platform strategy to lessen the risks.
Even if TikTok isn’t banned, a change in ownership could impact how the platform operates — if it hasn’t already. “It may not feel the same,” said Song, “which is why it is smart to prepare for a shifting landscape now rather than later.”
