Donald Trump has decided to give ByteDance, Chinese parent company of TikTok, another 90 days to divest its U.S. operations, stretching the deadline yet again despite a binding law that mandates either a completed sale or a total ban.
It’s the third time the president has pushed the enforcement date, ignoring pressure from lawmakers and legal analysts who insist he lacks the authority to sidestep the law indefinitely.
The Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed in 2024 with bipartisan support, gave ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to either sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or shut down. The Supreme Court upheld the law earlier this year.
Trump, however, has repeatedly refused to act. First in January, then April, and now again in June, he’s granted delays, despite having signed the very law enforcing the sale.
The latest extension moves the deadline to mid-September, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming on Tuesday:
“President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running.”
She added, “President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. The administration will spend the next three months making sure the sale closes so that Americans can keep using TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”
But that “assurance” seems tied to far more than just national security as Trump has made no secret of the app’s value to his political base. TikTok’s influence on young voters during the 2024 election helped energise an important demographic for his campaign.
Speaking in May, he candidly admitted, “TikTok helped me with young voters.”
Earlier this week aboard Air Force One, he told reporters that he planned to extend the deadline again, “Probably, yeah. Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”
A deal to spin off TikTok into a U.S.-based firm, majority-owned by American investors, was reportedly nearing completion earlier this year. But Trump’s abrupt imposition of up to 145% tariffs on Chinese imports in March soured negotiations. China signalled it would block the sale in response.
Now, Trump appears to be using the TikTok ban issue as leverage in ongoing trade discussions. He has implied he might reduce tariffs if Beijing agrees to approve the divestment.
That makes TikTok not just a social media platform under investigation, but a bargaining chip in one of the world’s most volatile diplomatic relationships.
Democratic lawmakers argue Trump is undermining national security by stalling. Some insist the current offer on the table doesn’t meet the legal standard, and question whether Trump’s personal and political interests are clouding his judgment.
The administration, meanwhile, is caught between conflicting aims; appease China just enough to get the sale done, but not so much that it appears weak. All while keeping 170 million U.S. TikTok users happy.
It seems Trump won’t ban TikTok after all