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TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was given a 75-day extension by President Trump via an executive order signed on January 20. The order won't block the sale or ban but will allow the company, and if we're being honest, the Chinese Communist Party, time to find a suitable buyer.

The executive order allowed TikTok to reactivate temporarily, with a message thanking President Trump for the extension. However, the app remains unavailable on Apple and Google app stores, so only users who have already downloaded TikTok can use it for now.

President Trump seems to be taking a stick-and-carrot approach to working out a deal with the Chinese. He's threatened to impose tariffs on China if they fail to approve a deal, increasing the likelihood that TikTok will remain active in the U.S. and its users' data safe from the prying eyes of the CCP.

For years, ByteDance has claimed that it doesn't share user data with its home country, but China's National Intelligence Law of 2017 clearly states that Chinese companies are compelled to share data upon request for national security reasons. So even if we take them at their word, they would be powerless to stop the CCP from accessing American user data. And boy, does TikTok collect a lot of user data...

From personal account information to phone contacts, biometric data, purchase history, IP addresses, and even keystroke patterns—and that's just some of the data they collect. Imagine what China could do with that information at its fingertips. In fact, we don’t have to imagine. Chinese President Xi Jinping said so himself:

"Whoever controls big data technologies will control the resources for development and have the upper hand."

That movie villain-esque quote from President Xi is frightening because it's true. China's control of TikTok, an app used by millions of young and impressionable Americans, gives them an upper hand over the U.S. Their ability to influence and spy on American citizens puts us in a dangerous position and would make it extremely difficult to counter China in a future conflict.

Those skeptical of President Trump's approach to TikTok should keep two things in mind. The TikTok sale or ban bill has already been signed into law and survived Supreme Court scrutiny. And the extension, along with the threat of tariffs, will most likely force the sale of a social media app valued in the tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars, to an American company, creating more wealth and security for our nation. Let's see if a deal can be made.