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U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that TikTok will have to stop operating in the United States if China does not approve a deal for the sale of the Chinese-owned short video app that is used by some 170 million Americans.
Speaking on CNBC, Lutnick also said the United States must control the algorithm that makes the social media platform work.
Last month, President Donald Trump extended by 90 days to September 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of TikTok.
Trump's action took place despite a 2024 law that mandated a sale or shutdown by January 19 of this year if there had not been significant progress.
A deal had been in the works this spring that would spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors.
This stalled after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
