Trump will extend TikTok’s ban/sale deadline by another 90 days
TikTok has been granted more time in the US after President Donald Trump agreed to give the app another 90 days. This marks the third time he’s delayed the ban-or-sell deadline since returning to office.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the move, saying Trump will sign a fresh Executive Order to keep the app live while talks continue.
Originally, TikTok was supposed to be banned early this year. The reason? Its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, hadn’t sold it to an American buyer by the set deadline.
ByteDance and TikTok haven’t said much publicly yet. But Leavitt noted that the extension will help finalise the deal and ensure US users’ data remains protected.
Before the official announcement, Trump hinted he was likely to extend the deadline. Speaking to the BBC, he sounded confident China would agree to any new sale terms.
“We’ll probably have to get China’s approval… I think we’ll get it,” he said. And when asked about the legal right to extend the deadline, he simply answered, “We do.”
Congress had already passed the bill forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. Former President Joe Biden even signed it into law. But now, Trump’s new direction seems to go against that move.
Security concerns were the main reason behind the law. Lawmakers feared TikTok could be used by China for spying or pushing propaganda, especially with its huge American user base.
TikTok’s Past Close Call and Trump’s Soft Spot
Back in January, just before Trump was sworn in again, the platform even went offline for a few hours. But it later came back, and TikTok thanked Trump for “saving” it.
Interestingly, Trump had tried to force a sale of the app in 2020, too. But now, he’s made peace with it. In December, he even credited TikTok for his win in the 2024 election.
“I have a soft spot for TikTok. I won the youth by 34 points,” he said, even though most young voters supported Kamala Harris.
Many experts now doubt the ban will ever happen at all. Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering even joked, “What ban? Nothing is looming anymore.”
She added that TikTok’s actions — like launching new AI tools at Cannes — show the company is confident about its future.
Sales Talks Still Ongoing — But Complicated
In April, Trump’s team said they were close to finalising a sale that would give Americans majority control over TikTok’s US arm. But nothing official has happened yet.
ByteDance later said some issues still needed to be worked out and that Chinese law would also play a big role in the final decision.
Trump has shown interest in seeing Oracle — a company owned by his ally Larry Ellison — buy TikTok. But others are also trying to jump in.
A new investor group includes big names like billionaire Frank McCourt, Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Even YouTube king MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) has expressed interest.
Although the app has been given a 90-day lifeline, its future is still up in the air. Will ByteDance finally sell it? Will China allow it? Or will Trump let it slide again?
