Popular video-sharing app TikTok has earned a fresh lease on life in the United States, as President Donald Trump is set to extend the platform’s sale-or-ban deadline for the third time since returning to office earlier this year.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to maintain TikTok’s availability while negotiations continue.
TikTok was initially slated for a U.S. ban after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, failed to meet a January deadline to sell its American operations.
Leavitt emphasized that the 90-day extension is intended 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.”
Prior to this announcement, Trump told the BBC that he would “probably” extend the deadline, noting, “We’ll probably have to get China approval. I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.” When pressed on whether he has the legal authority to grant the extension, Trump confidently replied, “We do.”
This move contradicts the clear intent of Congress, which passed a sale-or-ban law last year that was immediately signed into law by former President Joe Biden.
The legislation reflects bipartisan concerns over national security, given TikTok’s more than 170 million American users and fears that the platform could be exploited by China for espionage or political influence.
The Supreme Court upheld this law in January, just before Trump’s inauguration, reinforcing the legal foundation for TikTok’s forced divestiture or ban.
Notably, TikTok briefly went offline for several hours during the weekend before Trump’s swearing-in, only to return after an apparent intervention credited to Trump himself.
During his first term, Trump aggressively pursued a forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations, but his stance has since softened. Last year, he admitted to having a “warm spot” for TikTok, claiming the app helped him secure the youth vote in the 2024 presidential election—though polling showed a majority of young voters favored Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump’s repeated unilateral deadline extensions have fueled speculation among analysts that a ban may never be fully enforced during his administration.
In April, the Trump administration announced it had nearly brokered a deal to transfer majority control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to American investors.
However, ByteDance put negotiations on hold, citing unresolved issues and the need for approval under Chinese law.
A ByteDance spokesperson said at the time, “There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”
