Trump extends TikTok deadline by 75 days, vows to work with China
President Donald Trump has extended the deadline by 75 days for Chinese technology company ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban.
- President Trump has extended the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok by 75 days.
- The deal fell through due to a clash over tariffs between the U.S. and China.
- If no sale occurs, the app could face limitations or become unavailable in the U.S.
TikTok is temporarily safe from banishment once again.
Trump announced on social media Friday afternoon that he was signing a second executive order to extend the deadline another 75 days following reports of a deal with China falling through due to Trump’s tariffs.
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed.”
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, faced an April 5 deadline to sell its stake in the app or else be banned in the U.S. after Trump extended an earlier January deadline set by Congress last year.
What is the new deadline for TikTok?
The order would extend the deadline by another 75 days, putting it at Thursday, June 19, 2025.
USA TODAY notes this extension seeks to give the White House additional time to persuade the Chinese government to approve an agreement that the Trump administration hoped would allow the social media app to continue operating in the U.S.
Why did Trump, China deal on TikTok fall through?
USA TODAY reporting states the deal was derailed when the two countries clashed over tariffs last week. Trump announced an additional 34% tariff on China in addition to the 20% already in place; China responded by announcing reciprocal 34% tariffs on all imports from the United States.
A deal had allegedly been reached to move TikTok’s operations in the United States to a new company based in America. The new entity would have been owned and operated by a majority of American investors, the person said, with ByteDance holding a minority position.
Trump intended to sign an executive order initiating a 120-day closing period to finalize the paperwork and financing of the agreement, which officials said had the approval of investors and ByteDance.
Trump had previously said he would postpone the ban if a deal was not reached in time, even floating the idea of lowering tariffs on China to encourage Beijing, where ByteDance is based, to support a sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets.
Why is TikTok getting banned in the first place?
The Chinese-owned platform has raised questions over the years for allegedly harvesting data from those who have the app installed and use it frequently. TikTok stated it uses a separate, U.S.-based entity to store its American user data. CEO Shou Zi Chew has repeatedly sat before Congress and denied the app shares U.S. user data with the Chinese government.
In April 2024, Congress passed, and former President Joe Biden signed, a ban on the video-sharing app. The legislation addressed concerns that the app and ByteDance posed a serious threat to national security.
To stay in business in the U.S., the bill required TikTok to sell its U.S. assets to continue operating. It gave a deadline of Jan. 19, 2025.
After the Supreme Court denied ByteDance’s argument that a ban on the app infringes on users’ free speech, TikTok went dark for U.S. users for about 12 hours before becoming available again — the app welcomed users back with a message crediting then president-elect Donald Trump for its return.
On his first day back in office, Trump issued an executive order to extend the ban on TikTok, granting a 75-day extension. Despite Trump’s support for a TikTok ban during his first administration, he had been vocal about wanting to “save” the platform during his third presidential run.
The app returned to app stores later in February.
Can Trump extend the TikTok deadline yet again?
Under the federal legislation that is in place, the president can implement a 90-day extension on the deadline to sell. However, Trump instead signed an executive order delaying the ban by 75 days.
Trump is now signing a second executive order to postpone it once more. If he wishes to sign yet another executive order in another 75 days, he can.
What happens if TikTok is banned? Will the TikTok app still work?
If you have the app on your phone, it won’t go away, but services may be limited or unavailable, and you won’t get any more software updates. It’s unclear if you’d be able to add new content.
Some users have discussed using a VPN, a service that allows your device to simulate being in a different location, to get around the regional ban but it’s unclear how well that will work.
USA TODAY and C.A. Bridges contributed to this report.
This article was originally published by a www.jconline.com . Read the Original article here. .