While TikTok’s future in the US remains uncertain, it has emerged that the company is working on a new plan. While the sales period granted by US President Donald Trump to TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance has been extended to September 17, according to sources close to the company, TikTok is developing a new application codenamed “M2” in order to maintain its presence in the US market at the end of this process.
TikTok will continue on its path with the M2 application in the US
According to the information conveyed, the new application called M2 is aimed to be published in mobile application stores in the US on September 5. If this happens, TikTok’s 170 million US users will have to download this new application in order to maintain their access to the platform. The current TikTok application will continue to operate for a while, but it will be completely disabled by March 2026 at the latest. It is also stated that this date may change.
The newly developed application stands out as a step against increasing political pressures. The Trump administration had argued that TikTok’s presence in the US posed a national security risk and had required the company to completely separate its American operations from China.
US President Trump recently said that the sales agreement with US investors has reached its final stages and that the negotiations could be completed within a few days. However, it was also stated that the approval of the Chinese government may be required for the completion of the process.
According to the details of the planned sale, TikTok’s US operations will be transferred to a consortium of non-Chinese investors. It is known that technology company Oracle is also included in this group. ByteDance will continue to remain as a minority shareholder in this structure. Experts, who draw attention to the complexity of the process, remind that a similar sales attempt was previously canceled due to the objection of the Chinese administration.
On the other hand, TikTok’s influence is still strongly felt in the US. According to analytics platform Appfigures, TikTok is the second most downloaded application on Android devices in the country. ChatGPT is at the top of the list. While all these developments are taking place, the TikTok front has not yet made a statement on the subject.
Oracle’s name is not only in the sales process related to TikTok, but also in state infrastructure projects. According to the Wall Street Journal, Oracle will offer its software infrastructure to public institutions at a 75% discount as part of its new agreement with the US federal government. This development seems to have further increased the company’s political and commercial influence.
