President Donald Trump is preparing to grant TikTok yet another extension, offering the social media giant 90 additional days to secure a new U.S. owner before facing a possible nationwide ban. The decision, confirmed by the White House, marks the third delay in a saga that has seen the popular video-sharing app walk a tightrope between Chinese ownership and growing U.S. scrutiny.
TikTok’s latest deadline, originally set for June 19 under an executive order signed by Trump earlier this year, will now shift to mid-September. The extension follows earlier reprieves in January and April, as ByteDance—the app’s Chinese parent company—struggles to satisfy U.S. demands to divest its American operations.
“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “This extension will last 90 days, which the administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”
The new extension pushes beyond the parameters of the original law passed under President Biden in April 2024—the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—which mandated ByteDance to sell TikTok within 270 days. That deadline was initially set to expire on January 19, with only one 90-day extension permitted.
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However, Trump’s administration has taken a more lenient approach, repeatedly offering breathing room as negotiations with potential buyers continue. It’s a striking reversal from Trump’s first term, when he signed an executive order aimed at banning TikTok altogether—a move ultimately blocked by federal courts.
Since the divestment mandate was announced, a number of suitors have emerged for TikTok’s U.S. business. Tech firms such as AppLovin and Perplexity AI have expressed interest, and reports from the New York Times suggest Amazon has also joined the mix. Another possibility involves a consortium of TikTok’s existing American investors purchasing a majority stake, which would allow ByteDance to retain a limited role.
Trump has tasked Vice President JD Vance with overseeing the complex negotiations, hoping to broker a deal that both satisfies national security concerns and preserves access to the wildly popular platform, which boasts over 170 million users in the U.S. alone.
The president’s evolving stance on TikTok has raised eyebrows. Once a vocal critic of the platform’s ties to Beijing—citing concerns over data privacy and propaganda—Trump has since softened his tone. In a May appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, he described having a “warm spot in his heart” for TikTok, signaling his shift toward compromise.
His willingness to delay enforcement again appears to reflect a desire to strike a balance between safeguarding U.S. interests and not alienating the app’s massive user base—many of whom represent a key demographic ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Despite the temporary relief, ByteDance remains under significant pressure. If a sale is not finalized by September, Trump could proceed with enforcing the ban, potentially forcing app stores and hosting platforms to drop TikTok altogether. Neither TikTok nor ByteDance responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.
For now, the app remains available, and users continue scrolling. But the clock is ticking—again—and the next 90 days may decide TikTok’s future in America once and for all.
