President Donald Trump Tuesday signed an executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations from September 17 to December 16, 2025. This marks the fourth such extension since the law took effect in January 2025, averting an imminent nationwide ban on the app.
The move comes amid ongoing negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials, with Trump stating that a "framework" for a deal has been reached to address national security concerns while allowing TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. A finalized agreement is anticipated within the next 30 to 45 days, potentially before the new deadline, involving a sale to a U.S.-backed investor group.
The saga stems from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan law passed by Congress in April 2024 and signed by then-President Joe Biden. It requires ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. assets or face a ban due to fears that the Chinese government could access sensitive user data for surveillance, censorship, or influence operations.