TikTok Faces US Ban Unless China Hands Over Control, Lutnick Says

The commerce secretary warned that China must relinquish control of TikTok or the app would face a U.S. shutdown.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speaks at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on July 15, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has warned that TikTok will be shut off for U.S. users unless China grants Washington greater control over the platform.

“We’ve made the decision. You can’t have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones,” Lutnick told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on July 24.