A little over a week after U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that a group of “very wealthy people” would buy TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, a new report suggests that TikTok is developing a new version of its app specifically for users in the United States.
The Information reports that TikTok is working on the U.S.-specific TikTok app ahead of a planned sale to the aforementioned group of investors.
Reuters reported over the holiday weekend that Trump plans to begin talks with China this week about the proposed TikTok deal. A different deal fell apart earlier this year after the U.S. increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, a situation that has since been resolved with a new trade agreement.
However, Trump has been tepid in his statements about a potential deal between the new group of investors and the Chinese government.
“I’m not confident, but I think so,” Trump said on July 4 in reference to Chinese President Xi agreeing to a deal. “President Xi and I have a great relationship, and I think it’s good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it’s good for us.”
Trump added that the U.S. “pretty much” has a deal worked out for the acquisition of TikTok. The President recently gave ByteDance another deadline extension to divest from TikTok and comply with U.S. law. ByteDance now has until September 17 to divest its U.S. assets of TikTok, or else it will face a ban, although given how frequently Trump has extended lifelines to TikTok, it’s not obvious that the deadline means anything, especially if a deal is in active negotiation.
Supposing that TikTok sticks around with new owners, The Information claims that users in the U.S. will need to switch to a new version of the app to continue using TikTok. The current plan is to launch the new TikTok version in American app stores on September 5, and this new version will be required to continue using the TikTok service by early next year. It is believed that the new American version of TikTok is being developed in part to comply with the TikTok comply-or-ban legislation that passed in 2024 with heavy bipartisan support.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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