TikTok to Launch U.S.-Only App to Avoid Ban

TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for the United States in a last-ditch attempt to comply with Washington’s divestment order and avoid a nationwide ban. 

The new app, internally named “M2”, is expected to hit U.S. app stores on 5 September 2025,  just days before the extended deadline for its parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations.

This version, unlike the global one, is being built to run on an entirely separate infrastructure by engineers in the U.S. and Singapore, aimed squarely at addressing American data privacy and national security concerns. 

According to sources familiar with the matter, users will be allowed to continue using the current TikTok app until March 2026, but will eventually be forced to migrate.

This drastic restructuring results from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law in April, which mandates ByteDance’s full divestment from TikTok’s U.S. operations or risk being barred in the country.

President Donald Trump, whose administration pushed through the law, said recently: “We pretty much have a deal.”

He noted that the prospective buyers are a group of “very wealthy people”, though no names have been officially confirmed. Reports suggest Oracle and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are part of the investor consortium.

Despite the positivity from Washington, the obstacle lies thousands of miles away in Beijing. Chinese authorities have made it clear that they oppose what they view as a forced sale.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce previously stated that any technology export must go through its approval process, pointing that the final decision might rest on geopolitical rather than commercial terms.

This makes the entire operation fragile. With Trump’s trade issues against China escalating, including 145% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and tech components earlier this year, analysts suggest Beijing could use TikTok as a bargaining chip. In other words, the U.S. might have a buyer and a timeline, but China still holds the key.

For TikTok, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The platform commands more than 170 million users in the U.S. and serves over 7.5 million American businesses.

A sudden disruption, whether by government order or technical transition, could upend content creators’ incomes, freeze digital ad spending, and fragment a platform deeply embedded in U.S. popular culture.

There’s also the question of whether users will willingly adopt a new version of the app. Forced migration in digital products often faces resistance, and TikTok’s power lies in its network effects.

Fragmenting that network, even temporarily, could open doors for competitors or cause users to disengage altogether.

ByteDance has not issued a public statement regarding “M2” or the ongoing sale process. The Information, which first reported the app development, says internal testing is already underway.

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