U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Biden administration will shut down TikTok in the United States unless Beijing approves a deal that transfers majority control of the short-video app, including its recommendation algorithm, to American investors. “Decisions on TikTok are coming very soon,” Lutnick told CNBC on 24 July, adding that the platform “has to come out of Chinese control.” He stressed that TikTok’s fate is being handled separately from broader trade talks with China. Lutnick’s ultimatum comes after President Donald Trump last month granted ByteDance a third 90-day reprieve, moving the deadline for divesting TikTok’s U.S. assets to 17 September. A 2024 law requires the sale or closure of the app—used by roughly 170 million Americans—on national-security grounds unless Chinese ownership falls below a minority stake and the United States gains oversight of the underlying software. Negotiators have been exploring a structure that would leave ByteDance or other Chinese shareholders with a small interest while giving U.S. investors and operators full control over data, technology and the algorithm. Lutnick warned that if China rejects such an arrangement “TikTok will go dark” in the American market, underscoring rising pressure on both governments to resolve the long-running dispute.