President Donald J. Trump says TikTok must be sold to an American buyer, or it will be banned from operating in the United States. According to The Washington Post, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, does not appear to be in a hurry to sell the popular social media platform as the clock ticks down, almost certainly due to influence from the Chinese government.
Following the U.S. imposition of significant tariffs on Chinese imports, which prompted a reciprocal response from China, experts now suggest that the Chinese government is “increasingly likely to take a hard-line approach” regarding selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American buyer. As such, despite a growing list of interested suitors, China reportedly hopes to negotiate a “grand deal” with the Trump administration. Any deal would require the U.S. to make trade and technology policy concessions.
On January 19, TikTok was removed from the U.S. App Store and Google Play due to a new law that labeled the app illegal over national security concerns. This decision followed ByteDance’s decision to disable the service in the U.S. in response to the law.
After Trump indicated that he would sign an executive order on his first day in office to allow the social network to remain online, TikTok’s service was restored. However, the executive order requires ByteDance to transfer ownership of the app to a new owner in the coming weeks. Without an ownership change, the site would go offline, perhaps permanently.
The TikTok app is still unavailable on the App Store and Google Play.
Since then, discussions about purchasing TikTok have involved various figures, including Elon Musk and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary. Trump has also suggested that the U.S. government might purchase TikTok through a sovereign wealth fund.
In the meantime, relations between China and the U.S. have become increasingly strained. In addition to the new tariffs — which could be the first of many between the countries — China is considering launching antitrust investigations into U.S.-based companies like Google and Apple. Furthermore, China has officially lodged complaints about the tariffs with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the intergovernmental organization that governs international trade.
There are 170 million TikTok users in the U.S., which is one reason why Trump is trying to “save TikTok.”
If China refuses to allow TikTok to be sold without economic concessions, will Trump back down? It’s possible, but we can expect many more fireworks before a resolution is reached.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.