Trump to Decide TikTok's Fate... "Discussion on Handling Plan on the 2nd"

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to hold a meeting at the White House on the 2nd (local time) to discuss the final handling plan for the Chinese video platform TikTok, CBS News reported on the 1st.

AFP Yonhap News

According to the so-called 'TikTok Ban Act' passed by the U.S. Congress in April last year, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells TikTok's U.S. business rights to an American company. The original deadline for the sale was January 19, but President Trump extended it by 75 days until May 5.

According to foreign media reports, the Trump administration has been discussing a plan to spin off TikTok's U.S. entity, increase the stake of ByteDance's existing U.S. investors in TikTok's U.S. entity, and reduce the Chinese side's stake.

CBS reported that the handling plan under review by the Trump administration could involve private equity firm Blackstone and technology company Oracle as potential investors. CBS explained that other private equity firms, venture capital firms, and major investors in the tech industry could also be included.

Additionally, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the same day, citing multiple sources, that U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is negotiating to participate in buying out the Chinese shareholders' TikTok shares. FT introduced that Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen has a close relationship with the Trump administration, helping Elon Musk, Tesla CEO's government efficiency department (DOGE) hire employees. Sriram Krishnan, the White House chief AI policy advisor, was a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Key administration officials attending the TikTok sale-related meeting held in the White House Oval Office include U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard. However, CBS reported that it is unclear whether President Trump will approve the handling plan at this meeting.

On the 30th of last month, President Trump told reporters on his private plane, "There are many potential buyers. There is a lot of interest in TikTok. I will make that decision."