WASHINGTON, USA Apr 5 – US President Donald Trump has granted TikTok a second 75-day extension to comply with a law that requires the hugely popular video app to either sell its US operation or face a ban in the country.
“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.” The platform is currently owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Trump’s first extension was granted after he took office in January and was set to expire on Saturday.
The social media platform, which says it has more than 170 million users in the US, must close in the US under a law passed by Congress – unless a buyer is found.
In a statement on Friday, ByteDance said it had been in discussion with the Trump administration, but “an agreement has not been executed”.
“There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” a spokesperson said.
Former US President Joe Biden’s administration had argued that TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
Congress passed a bipartisan law last year that gave ByteDance six months to sell its controlling stake in TikTok or see the app blocked in the US.
Opponents of a ban have cited freedom of speech as a reason for keeping the platform open.
The new extension comes as the Trump administration tries to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership, and keep the popular app running in the US.
“The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
A TikTok deal was reportedly nearly finalised on Wednesday, but fell apart after Trump on the same day announced sweeping global tariffs, including on China.
ByteDance representatives contacted the White House to inform them China would no longer approve the deal unless negotiations on the tariffs could take place, a source familiar with the deal told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
The unnamed source said the plan had been for Trump to sign an order initiating a 120-day period for closing the deal, allowing time to finish paperwork and secure financing.
The agreement had won approval from existing investors, new investors, ByteDance, and the US government, but China backed out once Trump imposed the global import taxes, CBS reports.
