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TikTok got another reprieve Thursday as President Donald Trump signed an executive order letting the social media platform continue operating in the U.S. for 90 more days. It's the third time the White House has extended the deadline for TikTok's owner, China-based ByteDance, to divest its U.S. business since a "sale-or-ban law" took effect in January. While no buyer has emerged, multiple parties have signaled interest. There's no clear legal basis for the extensions, but so far there have been no challenges to them.
The mandatory sale of TikTok is the result of the passage of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This law was aimed at safeguarding national security by regulating applications like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries, particularly those linked to China. It prohibits the distribution and maintenance of such applications unless they comply with specific divestiture requirements.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, “As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark.”
While earlier ban deadlines sent advertisers scrambling, recent data shows spend has stayed steady—suggesting buyers are no longer jittery.
A US ban was set to take effect the day before Trump took office if TikTok’s Chinese parent company didn’t sell the platform; despite the government’s previous national security concerns, Trump has recently hailed the app as a potent way to reach young voters.
TikTok’s fate has since become entangled in US-China trade talks, though there appears to be little political appetite to force a sale or shut it down. “The president has essentially nullified a law because he doesn’t like it,” a law professor said.
While earlier ban deadlines sent advertisers scrambling, recent data shows spend has stayed steady—suggesting buyers are no longer jittery.
A US ban was set to take effect the day before Trump took office if TikTok’s Chinese parent company didn’t sell the platform; despite the government’s previous national security concerns, Trump has recently hailed the app as a potent way to reach young voters.
TikTok’s fate has since become entangled in US-China trade talks, though there appears to be little political appetite to force a sale or shut it down. “The president has essentially nullified a law because he doesn’t like it,” a law professor said.