President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok to continue operating in the United States by an additional 75 days.
The decision marks the second time he has delayed the enforcement of a federal law aimed at banning the popular short-form video app unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, divests its U.S. operations to an American buyer.
The initial deadline, set by a law signed by former President Joe Biden in April 2024, required ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban due to national security concerns. On his first day in office, January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order granting a 75-day reprieve, pushing the deadline to April 5, 2025. With that deadline approaching, he announced a further extension on April 4, 2025, giving ByteDance until mid-June 2025 to finalize a deal.
The move comes amid ongoing negotiations with potential U.S. buyers, though no specific buyer has been confirmed. Trump has suggested that his recently imposed 34% tariffs on Chinese goods could pressure China into approving a sale, a tactic he views as a powerful economic tool for national security and trade balance.
The original law allows the president to grant a one-time 90-day extension if significant progress toward a divestiture is demonstrated, but Trump’s actions—first a 75-day delay in January and now another 75 days—have raised questions about their legal grounding. Some experts argue that his extensions fall into a "gray area," as the law is technically in effect, and his orders may simply reflect a choice not to enforce it rather than a formal extension.
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