Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated on Monday that President Donald Trump’s decision to extend the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations violates legal requirements set under a 2024 law.
Warner criticized the reported deal under consideration, which he claimed would fail to meet the legal requirements for fully severing ByteDance’s influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations. The deal, according to Warner, would allow ByteDance to maintain a significant operational role in TikTok’s U.S. business by retaining a substantial equity stake and remaining involved in technology development and maintenance.
On Friday, Trump announced a 75-day extension for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets to a non-Chinese buyer, a deadline that was originally set to expire in January under the law. If ByteDance failed to meet the divestiture requirement, a ban on TikTok was supposed to take effect.
The reported deal would involve spinning off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new company, majority-owned by U.S. investors, with the aim of diluting Chinese ownership.
“Any qualified divestiture must ensure a clean operational break from ByteDance and TikTok USA, including by preventing either company from continuing to develop, influence, or access personal data or source code,” Warner stated. “The deal being discussed undermines confidence that the divested app can be trusted to protect national security and comply with the law.”
Trump’s administration is reportedly in talks with four different groups about a potential TikTok deal. However, a key obstacle remains the need for approval from the Chinese government, which has not publicly agreed to support a sale. Trump’s comments on Friday suggested renewed opposition from China.
Some lawmakers have urged Trump to enforce the law, which required TikTok to stop operating by January 19 unless ByteDance had completed the divestiture. The Justice Department, however, chose not to enforce the law in January, allowing TikTok to remain operational.
