TikTok's US Policy Chief Steps Down As Bidding War Heats Up After Trump Extends Deadline: Report
TikTok‘s U.S. public policy chief, Michael Beckerman, is leaving his Washington-based role to transition to a global advisory position.
The departure comes as President Donald Trump recently extended the deadline for ByteDance‘s sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets by 75 days, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a staff memo.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
Meanwhile, competition to acquire TikTok’s international operations intensifies, with AppLovin Corp. (NYSE:APP) confirming a preliminary bid in an exchange filing. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and a group led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely are reportedly exploring potential bids.
Beijing’s resistance complicates the sale, which affects over 170 million American users. The White House has taken an active role in negotiations, with Vice President JD Vance expressing optimism that terms will be finalized by the deadline that was set on April 5.
This forced divestiture occurs amid broader tech industry scrutiny, as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) simultaneously fights a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case seeking divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp. Prosecutors allege Meta employed an illegal “buy or bury” strategy to dominate social networking.
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