Talks around a potential sale of the U.S. subsidiary of TikTok have intensified ahead of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for the popular social media platform to divest of its Chinese ownership to avoid a nationwide ban.
Vice President JD Vance, who has been tasked by Trump with overseeing his administration’s position on the issue, on Friday said he expected a deal could be reached by early next month, although he warned that the paperwork could take slightly longer.
“There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise,” he told NBC News.
Earlier this year, TikTok went temporarily dark in the U.S. for about 14 hours in response to a federal ban over national security concerns about the app’s ties to China. TikTok restored service to its about 170 million American users after Trump promised to sign an executive order delaying the enforcement of a U.S. law requiring it to divest of its Chinese ownership to continue being available in U.S. app stores.
Trump followed through on his promise, granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with the law on his first day in office.
The president, however, has previously said he would be willing to further extend the current April 5 deadline if needed.
Last week, Trump said his administration was considering offers from “four different groups” without naming the bidders.
But recent reports by Politico and The Information indicate that Oracle is the leading contender to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok at the moment. The social media app already has a deal with Oracle to store its U.S. user data.
Politico reported that while the tech company is in advanced discussions with the Trump administration to buy TikTok, questions remain about the role of ByteDance, the platform’s Chinese parent company, in the potential deal.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are expected to meet with representatives from Oracle this week to discuss the plan, according to Politico.
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Neither the White House nor Oracle has addressed the reports so far.
Earlier this year, Trump said he would be open to Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder and chief technology officer, owning the platform.
Other bidders include startup Perplexity AI and billionaire Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who has joined forces with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary.