President Donald Trump will extend the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations by another 90 days, moving the cutoff to mid-September.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday (June 17) that Trump will sign a new executive order to keep TikTok available to U.S. users. “President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” she stated. “This extension will last 90 days… so the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”
This marks the third extension of a mandate initially set under the Biden administration, which had required TikTok to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban by January 19.
TikTok briefly went offline for over 170 million American users on January 18, and was pulled from app stores. It returned the following day after Trump offered clarity to service providers. He was sworn into office on January 20.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that another extension was likely, adding that approval from China might be necessary. “I think President Xi will ultimately approve it,” he said.
The U.S. and China recently agreed to a 90-day pause in their trade dispute, giving TikTok more time to secure a deal. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the U.S. to “remove the negative measures taken against China.”
Meanwhile, potential buyers for TikTok’s U.S. operations include Amazon, Oracle, a consortium led by Frank McCourt and Jesse Tinsley, and Zoop, a startup by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely. Elon Musk, once rumored to be interested, denied involvement in February.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%,” while confirming that a new trade arrangement with China is in place.
