After extending the TikTok US ban deadline at least four times, the social media giant appears to be closing that chapter: a new US “joint venture” for TikTok is expected to close next month.
While TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has stayed quiet through much of the rumored sales required to keep the app running in the US, the news of a joint US venture has reportedly been confirmed by an internal memo from ByteDance CEO Shou Chew. The agreement, expected to close in January 2026, sees US-based investors take partial ownership, as well as being responsible for data protection.
The agreement comes nearly a year after TikTok went dark in the US for a few hours before President Donald Trump passed a deadline extension for the law that required the China-based social media platform to sell, a law based on data security concerns. The deadline has now been extended at least four times since then, and it looks like an arrangement to keep the app in the US is coming next month.
The TikTok ban echoes another ban over data concerns for China-based tech companies, as DJI faces a potential ban in the US on December 23. Last year, the US passed a law that required passing a security review within a year's time or face being automatically placed on an FCC list that would prevent any new products from being announced in the US.
That government-mandated security review has yet to happen, despite repeated pleas from DJI to begin the audit process. Now, the drone giant is urging lawmakers to extend the deadline and assign an agency to carry out the security audit.
The TikTok ban and the DJI ban are not part of the same legislation, but the two bans have similar echoes of concern over data security. The concern stems in part from a law in China that requires businesses to give the government access to user data, no matter where the user is based.
TikTok was granted several deadline extensions to keep the app running in the US. DJI appears to be hoping for the same thing, as the company is now urging US legislators to extend the deadline. The law requiring the security audit did not detail what would happen if the audit did not begin on time, nor did it assign a specific government agency to carry out the audit process.
If December 23 passes without a completed security audit or government extension, new DJI products will not gain the required FCC authorization to sell products in the US, which includes drones as well as action cameras, gimbals, and accessories. A recently passed law makes it possible for the FCC to also revoke the authorization for previously launched products.
As an American drone pilot, I’m hoping that DJI will see a similar deadline extension. DJI has such a large share of the drone market that finding a drone alternative is a challenge, and many of the other options are also from companies based in China.
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