Washington: President Donald Trump will grant another extension to ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, allowing it more time to sell the platform to a US buyer and avoid a nationwide ban, press reports said Tuesday. The extension comes under a 2024 law that prohibits the short video platform from operating in the US unless it is divested from its Beijing-based owner.
According to Anadolu Agency, the law was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Trump will sign an executive order this week extending the deadline by 90 days. ‘President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,’ NBC quoted her as saying. The platform currently boasts approximately 170 million users in the US.
The platform had briefly gone offline before Trump’s second inauguration but was restored after he promised a delay. Leavitt stated the administration will use the extension period ‘working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.’
Trump had previously delayed the ban for 75 days on his first day back in office. With no buyer emerging by the April deadline, the new extension pushes the cutoff to early July. Earlier Tuesday, Trump mentioned that any deal ‘probably has to get China approval,’ but expressed optimism, adding: ‘I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.’