Trump extends deadline for US TikTok ban yet again

U.S. President Donald Trump will extend the deadline for TikTok’s ban for the third time, giving the platform’s parent company a 90-day extension to find a non-Chinese buyer.

“President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Jun. 17, as quoted by the BBC.

"As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend 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.”

The announcement came a day after Trump told reporters that he would “probably” extend the deadline, adding that China’s approval was needed to proceed with TikTok's sale.

“I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

TikTok sale-or-ban law

The TikTok sale-or-ban law states that TikTok is to be banned in the U.S. unless its parent company, ByteDance, could sell it to a buyer not from a blacklist of countries.

Passed by Congress and signed by former U.S. President Joe Biden in April 2024, it gave ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok.

U.S. officials had cited concerns that data from TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users could be retrieved by the Chinese government.

According to The Guardian, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray accused ByteDance of being controlled by the Chinese government, which could collect user data for “traditional espionage operations”.

The law took effect five months ago on Jan. 19, causing the platform to go offline for a few hours.

TikTok went online again after Trump signed an executive order the following day, marking the first time he extended the deadline.

He did so a second time in April. Though Trump said his administration was “very close” to a deal, the plan fell through after his tariff announcement caused China to back out.

The deal “requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” said Trump on Truth Social following the second delay, extending the deadline to Jun. 19.

“Little warm spot”

After his 2024 U.S. presidential election win, Trump, who as of Jun. 18 has garnered over 15 million followers on TikTok, expressed that he liked the platform.

"I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points," said Trump as quoted by the BBC, though it noted that most young voters had backed his opponent, Kamala Harris.

He echoed the sentiment again during an interview with NBC News in May.

"I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” said Trump. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension."

Top image via Donald J. Trump/Facebook & Unsplash