Former President Donald Trump has decided to push back the TikTok ban deadline by 75 days, allowing additional time for a potential deal to be finalized. The announcement, made through a post on Truth Social on Friday, comes just a day before the original ban was scheduled to take effect.
In his statement, Trump emphasized progress on negotiations to secure TikTok’s future in the United States. “My administration has been working tirelessly to SAVE TIKTOK. We’ve made great progress, but we need more time to ensure all the necessary approvals are obtained. That’s why I’m signing an executive order to keep TikTok operational for another 75 days,” he said.
This is the second extension granted to ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to reach a resolution. Originally, under a policy set by former President Joe Biden, ByteDance had until January 19 to divest its U.S. TikTok operations. Trump’s initial executive order, signed on his first day back in office, already added 75 days to that deadline.
Just before the latest extension, TikTok experienced a brief takedown from app stores like Apple’s App Store and Google Play but was later reinstated.
According to Bloomberg, Trump recently reviewed a proposal submitted by a group of American investors including Oracle, Blackstone, and Andreessen Horowitz. This proposal is currently viewed as a leading option for a possible acquisition or restructuring of TikTok’s U.S. assets. Other interested buyers reportedly include Amazon, AppLovin, Walmart, Perplexity AI, and billionaire Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty consortium.
However, even if a deal is reached with a U.S. entity, it will still need approval from the Chinese government. Meanwhile, ByteDance has shown little indication that it’s willing to sell TikTok or reduce its ownership stake, both of which are requirements under the existing TikTok ban legislation.
The extension also follows a fresh round of tariffs announced by Trump, with a 34% rate imposed on Chinese imports. Trump hinted that tariff reductions could be used as leverage to help push a TikTok deal through.
In his post, Trump added, “We want TikTok to remain accessible. Our goal is to work with China in good faith. Tariffs have proven to be powerful economic tools, essential to national security and fair trade. We look forward to completing this deal together.”
In response, China announced its own 34% tariff on all American goods.
