Meta Has Not Bought TikTok, Despite the Rumors You May Have Heard Online

If you're a TikTok user, you're likely aware that the app is subject to a ban that may or may not endanger it in the U.S. The TikTok ban stipulates that the app can only remain active in the United States if it's purchased by an American company and is disentangled from ByteDance, the company's Chinese ownership.

Following the app going dark on Jan. 18 and coming back the next day, many want to know whether Meta is going to buy TikTok to keep it active in the United States. Here's what we know.

Meta has not bought TikTok, but rumors are swirling on social media that suggest they plan to or are in the process of doing so. There has been no actual reporting to that effect, though, and it's unclear what Meta would do with the app if they were to purchase it. TikTok is one of Instagram's biggest competitors, and the company launched Reels explicitly to fight back against TikTok's dominance in short-form video.

TikTok remains active in the U.S., but not because a deal with Meta is in the works. Instead, it seems to be because Donald Trump had suggested that he would give the company a 90-day reprieve, which the law allows for if a deal is in the works.

There's been no indication, though, that TikTok is actually close to finding a buyer that would comply with the law. For now, then, it seems that TikTok is just taking Trump's word that he will keep the app from disappearing.

Regardless of whether Trump can actually keep the app afloat all by himself or not, it seems clear that TikTok is openly trying to curry favor with the incoming administration. Their message about the app's return explicitly thanked Trump, who was not yet president, for working with them to keep the app online.

Meta seems to be very much in the same boat, and the CEOs of both ByteDance and Meta will be attending Trump's inauguration.

Although it's unclear what the fate of this lawsuit might be in a Trump administration, the FTC is currently suing Meta, claiming that the company is an unlawful monopoly because of the dominance it has asserted over the social media space.

Purchasing TikTok would only make that case stronger, as it would mean that Meta would own all of the biggest social media platforms in the United States with the exception of Snapchat and Twitter.

For now, then, it doesn't seem like Meta is the likeliest company to pick up the app. TikTok's future is very uncertain, and we won't ultimately know it's fate until we see how Donald Trump decides to govern. In the meantime, all the app's users can do is hope that someone decides to save it from a ban. It's worth remembering, though, that Trump was the person who started the TikTok ban conversation back in 2020.