TikTok ban back in the spotlight in the US
TikTok is back in the spotlight again in the U.S. as federal commerce officials warn that TikTok could be forced offline in the U.S. unless China approves a proposed sale of the platform.
Make it stand out
This follows the latest executive order delaying enforcement of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirming that the ban will proceed should no agreement be reached.
Lutnick stated on July 24, 2025, that ByteDance must relinquish control of TikTok’s U.S. business and its algorithm to American investors or the app will “go dark” imminently. The original deadline was extended by Trump to September 17, 2025, through a third executive order despite a 2024 law that forbade further extensions without binding sale agreements.
As recently as last week, Trump stated that a TikTok deal is ready backed by a consortium of U.S. investors. However, the withdrawal of a key partner has cast doubt over the viability of the proposed structure. It remains unclear whether the ByteDance is open to the terms currently on the table.
With less than two months until the September 17th deadline, the situation remains highly uncertain. Given the complexity of the negotiations and the geopolitical sensitivities involved the likelihood of a fully approved agreement being finalised in time does not look likely.
What this means for advertisers in Ireland
For now, nothing will be impacted for advertisers in the Irish market. The current regulatory action is confined to the United States while TikTok will continue to operate as usual in Ireland and across the EU.
However, advertisers should closely monitor the situation for any significant changes in TikTok’s global ownership structure or platform governance could eventually influence EU policy discussions or data-sharing protocols particularly under the Digital Services Act and GDPR frameworks.
While there is no immediate cause for concern our recommendation is to scenario-plan for potential policy shifts. This can be done by a continued platform diversification and ensuring advertisers and creators have multi-platform presence.
Read more here:
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-ban-upheld-if-deal-not-in-place-by-deadline/754039/