December 15, 2025
Deal or No Deal: TikTok Edition
US TikTok investors in limbo as deal set to be delayed again
TikTok sale hits snooze again while commenters roast DC
TLDR: Trump is expected to extend the TikTok sale deadline yet again, leaving investor Frank McCourt waiting while ByteDance remains unsold. Commenters mocked DC’s indecision, debated whether TikTok is operating “illegally,” and cracked jokes about a “done deal” that never was—why it matters: millions of users and US tech power politics.
America’s longest-running cliffhanger continues: TikTok’s US sale deadline is expected to be pushed back for a fifth time, leaving billionaire bidder Frank McCourt saying he’s “standing by” with cash in hand. The 2024 law says sell or be banned; the Supreme Court backed it in 2025. But the deal? Still missing.
Commenters erupted. One joked they thought Larry Ellison had already “mopped the floor,” while another deadpanned, “Are they claiming the president lied? Say it ain’t so!” Others asked if ByteDance will spend a whole year “operating illegally,” turning the thread into a civics class wrapped in a roast. Hotter still: a polarizing claim that TikTok was targeted for showing too much Gaza content, not China fears—cue fireworks and fact-check battles.
There’s eye-roll energy toward investors too—“the last people I’ll feel sorry for,” sniffed one user. Meanwhile, McCourt says he’d run TikTok without any Chinese tech, swapping out its famous recommendation algorithm for his Project Liberty tools, which drew skeptical memes: “Deal or No Deal,” “Schrödinger’s ban,” and “The Deadline That Cried Wolf.” With no green light from Beijing or ByteDance, the crowd consensus is loud: expect another extension, more drama, and even spicier comments. For the straight scoop, McCourt told BBC News he’s ready when—or if—the moment arrives.
Key Points
- •Frank McCourt says his investor group is ready to buy TikTok’s US operations but awaits US government action as another deadline extension is expected.
- •A 2024 US law requires ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a US ban; the law was signed by Joe Biden and upheld by the Supreme Court in early 2025.
- •President Donald Trump previously claimed a sale was near with support from Xi Jinping and involvement of investors like Larry Ellison and Michael Dell, but no agreement was reached.
- •An October meeting between Trump and Xi concluded without a deal, and neither ByteDance nor Chinese authorities have approved a sale.
- •McCourt’s group, including Alexis Ohanian and Kevin O’Leary, proposes operating TikTok without Chinese technology, using alternatives from McCourt’s Project Liberty.