TIKTOK may have been saved by JD Vance as he is reportedly set to announce a deal that’ll stop it from being banned in the US.
But the potential solution could include changes to the algorithm that feeds videos to nearly 140 million TikTok users in America.
Vice President JD Vance is reportedly partnering with an investor group to announce a plan to save the app from an April 5 ban, according to Fox News reporter Charles Gasparino.
Gasparino wrote that the announcement will “likely to include a grace period to put finishing touches on a deal designed” to stop the ban from taking effect.
Prior to the reported deal, Vance was tasked with “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok,” according to reports from Capitol Hill.
The deal is said to allow TikTok’s current parent company, ByteDance, the opportunity to maintain a small amount of equity.
Despite ByteDance’s continued involvement, Vance is working to calm Americans’ fears that the app is being used by the Chinese government to spy on them.
According to Gasparino, it is unclear whether the algorithm will change as the deal allows the current algorithm to transfer to the new company, but some equity holders are pushing for a new algorithm to be built.
As of now, the majority of the data storage under the reported deal will be done by the computer software company Oracle.
Current US equity holders will reportedly maintain a controlling stake in the new company.
JD Vance’s office did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for more information.
SUPREME COURT BAN
The plan comes just a few months after the Biden administration initially banned the app on January 18.
On January 10, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold the law passed by Congress and signed by Biden in April 2024 that would prohibit tech giants such as Apple and Google from hosting TikTok on their US platforms.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” The decision read.
“But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
The decision was a massive hit for millions of Americans, especially those who made a living on the platform.
“I’m never going to trust you ever again because you just, like that, took away millions of people’s income and livelihood, and who does that?” influencer Emily Senn said in a tearful video.
Fortunately for passionate TikTok fans, the ban didn’t last very long.
For 12 hours, the app went dark, preventing users from viewing or posting videos.
However, on January 19, American TikTok users opened the app to a message telling them that President Trump worked with ByteDance to save the app.
“Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US,” the notification read.
Trump signed an executive order giving ByteDance 75 days to find a US buyer who would allow the app to continue operating in the country.
TIKTOK DRAMA
Since the app first exploded in 2019, lawmakers have been pushing for it to be banned.
ByteDance initially got into hot waters with the US government after rapper Lil Nas X’s song Old Town Road went viral on the app.
In February 2019, the app settled a $5.7 million case with the Federal Trade Commission over violations of US child-privacy laws, the Associated Press reported.
As part of the agreement, the app was required to implement strict measures to safeguard children’s data.
Despite the settlement, the app denies having violated any child-privacy laws.
The drama continued when, in September 2019, The Guardian reported that internal documents that reportedly “instructs its moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong.”
How would the TikTok ban work?
TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has until April 5 to sell the beloved app or it'll be banned over national security concerns.
In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance 9 months to divest TikTok due to concerns the Chinese government could spy on Americans and manipulate content on TikTok.
After winning the election, President Donald Trump extended the sale deadline to April 5. Vice President JD Vance was tasked with coming up with a plan to save the app.
If ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok to a government-approved buyer by that deadline, app stores will be forced to stop distributing or updating TikTok.
Companies like Apple and Google would be banned from helping to keep TikTok going, essentially forcing the app to die out.
While TikTok likely won’t be removed from phones, it’ll slowly degrade without any upkeep and eventually become unusable.
A few months later, in January 2020, the Pentagon banned the app from all military personnel’s phone.
Later that year, President Donald Trump began to take action against the Chinese-owned company by issuing a vague executive order restricting US companies from doing business with ByteDance.
Rumors began to swirl about Microsoft buying the app, but no deal ever came to fruition.
Trump’s initial plan to ban the app fell through as Joe Biden was elected president in November 2020.
TikTok’s downloads continued to skyrocket as it reached one billion active monthly users in September 2021, later becoming the most downloaded app in the world by April 2022.
Privacy concerns reemerged in 2023 as The White House gave federal agencies one month to delete the app from all government-issued mobile devices.
In March 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew attended a six-hour congressional hearing during which lawmakers questioned him on the app’s connection to the Chinese government.
One year later, the House of Representatives officially passed a “ban-or-sell” bill for the app.
The bill makes it up to President Biden, who signs it.
In May 2024, ByteDance sued the government, claiming the ban-or-sell bill is unconstitutional.
As the lawsuit progressed, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both experienced massive success on the platform as they used the app to promote their respective campaigns.
By December 6, 2024, a federal court upheld the law, which the Supreme Court later supported in January 2025.