Donald Trump to extend TikTok deadline by 90 days
Donald Trump
will extend the June 19 deadline for China-based
ByteDance
to sell the US operations of TikTok by another 90 days, the White House said on Tuesday, June 17. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the decision. She said 'President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running.' Adding further, she said 'President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,' saying the next three months will be used to work on closing the sale and ensuring that American users' data is protected. With the new deadline, TikTok will get more time to complete the sale, which is required under US law unless significant progress has been made.
Trump says China's approval may be needed for TikTok sale
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he expected to approve the extension. When asked, he replied,
'Probably, yeah. Probably have to get China approval but I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.'
In May, Trump had already indicated he would extend the deadline, partly because of the app's popularity with young voters during the 2024 election.
What the US law says
The law required ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets or shut down the app by January 19, unless it showed major progress toward a sale. Trump, who began his second term on January 20, chose not to enforce the deadline and has since extended it twice—first to early April and then to June 19.]
A deal was being discussed earlier this year to spin off TikTok's US business into a company controlled by American investors. However, the talks stalled after China pushed back following Trump's announcement of new tariffs on Chinese imports.
In March, Trump said he was open to lowering tariffs on China if that helped move the TikTok sale forward. The app currently has about 170 million users in the US.
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