U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting in Spain for a second day of trade negotiations on Monday, with the fate of TikTok once again hanging in the balance. The discussions, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, come as a deadline approaches for ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to either sell the app or face a ban in America.
The current deadline is set to expire on Wednesday, though it is widely expected that the White House will grant yet another extension—the fourth since July.
The TikTok Question
Despite years of warnings about national security risks, TikTok remains active in the United States. The app collects extensive data on its users, from location and device information to browsing history and behavioral patterns. U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly raised concerns that this trove of information could be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party under China’s sweeping national security laws, which compel companies like ByteDance to share data if ordered.
Former President Donald Trump, who once championed banning TikTok outright, has since softened his stance. He has delayed enforcement multiple times, recently dismissing national security concerns as “highly overrated.” Ironically, Trump gained a surge of online traction during the 2024 election cycle by embracing TikTok himself. The White House even launched its official TikTok account this past August.
India Set a Precedent
The United States is not the first democracy to confront TikTok’s risks. In 2020, India permanently banned TikTok, WeChat, and more than 50 other Chinese apps, citing national security and data privacy concerns. The Indian government declared the apps “a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India,” pointing to their potential misuse in data mining and surveillance.
India’s decision demonstrated a firm, decisive stance: rather than repeatedly extending deadlines or bargaining with Beijing, New Delhi took action. The ban forced a new wave of domestic social media apps to rise in India, with no reported long-term harm to the country’s digital ecosystem.
If India—the world’s largest democracy and a major technology market—could act decisively against TikTok, the question arises: why can’t the United States?
Trade Talks Overshadow the Ban
This week’s trade talks in Spain are not only about TikTok. U.S. and Chinese officials are also working to maintain their fragile 90-day tariffs truce, due to expire on 10 November. The temporary deal scaled back import duties that had reached over 100% on some goods and bought both sides time to address disputes over “unfair trade practices.”
But TikTok has become a litmus test of Washington’s resolve. If the U.S. continues to extend deadlines indefinitely, critics argue, it will show weakness—not only on tech security but also in the broader geopolitical competition with Beijing.
A Meeting of Giants
Officials hope the talks will lay the groundwork for a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a South Korea summit in October. Yet TikTok’s future in America may hinge less on diplomacy and more on political will: whether Washington can finally prioritize national security over short-term political gain.
For now, the question remains unanswered: if India could ban TikTok and WeChat outright, why is the United States still hesitating?
