Q&A: Will TikTok be banned in the US this weekend?

TikTok is facing a ban in the US if its Chinese parent firm does not agree to a deal by April 5.

In January, the app went offline for a day before US President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the implementation of a law which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US business or be banned, because of national security concerns over the platform’s links to China.

With that deadline now upon us, here is a look at the key questions surrounding TikTok and its future.

– Why is TikTok facing a US ban?

Officials in the US have concerns that the Chinese government could access the user data TikTok collects on its American users for intelligence purposes, or use the app to run influence campaigns.

Beijing has denied this, and TikTok has always said it would not share user data with the Chinese government.

But last year, former president Joe Biden signed a law which mandated that China-based ByteDance must sell the US version of TikTok, or face a ban.

ByteDance has unsuccessfully challenged the law in court and previously said it would resist any sale, and allowed the initial deadline in January of this year to pass.

At that time, the app went offline for around a day, as the deadline fell just as the US presidency was transitioning from Mr Biden to Mr Trump. Once in office, Mr Trump signed an executive order giving TikTok an extension until April 5 to find a buyer.

– Who is in the running to buy TikTok now?

Reports have suggested that the most likely scenario for an acquisition will see TikTok’s existing non-Chinese investors all up their stake to take control of US operations.

But, a number of other potential buyers have emerged in the weeks since the extension was granted.

Mr Trump has previously said Microsoft was in talks about buying the app, and that he would also be willing to sell to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison or X owner and close ally Elon Musk – although the SpaceX boss has said he is not interested.

Billionaire Frank McCourt has previously declared his interest, as has the world’s most popular YouTuber, Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast.

The British founder of OnlyFans, Tim Stokely, has also been linked with a bid.

– How would any deal to sell TikTok US work?

This remains one of the key questions, and it is still unclear how any sale would be structured.

Experts have suggested that if TikTok US ended up being carved out of the rest of the business and therefore the app’s key algorithm, it would substantially change the app for the 170 million Americans who are estimated to use it.

Kelsey Chickering, industry expert and principal analyst at Forrester, said: “TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand – it’s simply not as powerful.”

And it is extremely unlikely that ByteDance would be willing to part with its algorithm as part of the deal.

But there have been reports that the US government would be open to a deal which would see ByteDance keep ownership of the algorithm, and then lease it to the new owners of TikTok US.

– If no deal is reached, will TikTok be banned?

If a deal is not reached, TikTok could face a ban and be pulled from app stores, as it was briefly in January, when Apple and Google did not want to breach the law by hosting the app.

Mr Trump’s executive order that gave TikTok an extension did not overturn the ban – which was passed by Congress and then upheld by the US Supreme Court.

So the possibility of a ban remains present.

However, the US president has said he would “probably” issue another extension, if needed.

Or, he could allow the law to stand, but ask the US Department of Justice not to enforce it and give app stores reassurance they will not be punished for allowing it in their stores.

Experts have said they believe it is unlikely TikTok would “go dark” again, and that a sale or an extension would be the more probable outcomes.

In recent days, US officials and Mr Trump himself have also said they believe a deal will be done before the deadline, and on Thursday, the president suggested he could offer China some relief from US tariffs in exchange for helping complete any deal.