President Donald Trump’s administration has made its position on TikTok crystal clear: the hugely popular app is fine, as long as Americans own it. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that while the president personally likes the Chinese-owned app, the national security risks it poses are too great to ignore.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Lutnick explained the administration’s two-sided view. On one hand, he said, “The President likes TikTok… because, you know, it was a good way to communicate with young people.”
But Lutnick said that positive view doesn’t change the administration’s core security concerns. “But let’s face it, you can’t have the Chinese have an app on 100 million American phones; that is just not okay,” he stated bluntly.
The demand goes beyond just a simple change in ownership. Lutnick emphasized that a full transition to American hands, including its underlying technology and algorithms, is the only viable path forward. “It’s got to move to American ownership, it’s got to move to American technology, American algorithms,” he said, adding that Trump would be “positive towards TikTok, if it can move into American hands.”
Lutnick’s comments are the latest development in the long-running battle over the future of TikTok, which over 170 million Americans use in the United States. The administration’s unwavering stance sets the stage for a forced sale, putting the pressure squarely on TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to find a US buyer.
