Goodbye to TikTok in June? Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary believes there won’t be a third ban extension

Back in January, TikTok users were saved from a blackout after an extension was enacted by President Donald Trump to allow the app to function on devices in the US.

Legislation that could lead to a permanent ban was passed by Congress in April 2024 on a bipartisan basis. Lawmakers accused TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of stealing user data and providing it to the Chinese government. However, as no deal was reached between TikTok US and a buyer, leaders in Washington began to worry after seeing the backlash from constituents who use the app. TikTok has around 172 million users in the US.

White House enacts a second extension, but will there be a third?

Earlier this month, the White House imposed a second 75-day extension, which provides more time for a deal to be negotiated. However, TikTok has made it clear that they do not plan to sign any deal that would infringe on their intellectual property rights. As relations between China and the US become increasingly tense, with the two countries locked in essentially a trade embargo, with tariffs over 100 percent on imports from each other, a deal seems unlikely.

When the second extension was imposed, the president posted on Truth Social that his administration was “working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK,” and that “tremendous progress” had been made. He also noted that China was not very happy about the reciprocal tariffs the White House had imposed, and that such frustration from their trading partner was evidence that “tariffs are the most powerful economic tool, and very important to our national security.”

Since these comments were made, little information has been reported on the state of any deal. At a time when China is looking to increase its leverage over the United States, allowing for a US buyer to purchase TikTok US might not be in their interest.

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Kevin O’Leary doesn’t see another extension coming

Former “Shark Tank” judge and businessman Kevin O’Leary has submitted a bid alongside Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to purchase the app, which they refer to as “The People’s Bid.” During an interview last week, O’Leary said that anyone who purchases the app, should ByteDance choose to sell, will need to rewrite the algorithm the platform uses—which has been the key to TikTok’s success over other apps available in the US that provide similar content, like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.

Writing will be necessary because ByteDance might not be willing to sell this information, and instead would hand over the branding rights, as well as the videos already on the platform and the accounts.

O’Leary thinks a deal before a third extension would be critical because an attorney general could sue the government and require the penalty to be imposed. The businessman ran the numbers and that could mean a fine of $800 billion a year. “No S&P 500 company could sustain that cost,” said O’Leary.

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