President Donald Trump has issued a 90-day extension allowing TikTok to continue operations in the United States, offering the app yet another reprieve as efforts to secure a sale proceed.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that the president will sign an executive order extending TikTok’s deadline to divest its US operations. This marks the third such extension since Trump took office in January.
Trump Doesn’t Want TikTok to “Go Dark”
“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” Leavitt stated, according to CNN. She added that the administration will use the 90 days to work toward closing a deal that ensures the security of American user data.
While discussions continue behind the scenes, no concrete updates have emerged since the last extension in April. A number of US-based investors are reportedly interested in acquiring TikTok’s American operations, but any agreement would require approval from Chinese regulators.
New US-Based Entity for TikTok?
Previous reports suggested that a possible structure for the deal involved US investors rolling their stakes into a new, US-based entity. However, those negotiations stalled following Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports, adding further complexity to the deal-making process.
The US government’s efforts to force a sale of TikTok’s US business stem from longstanding concerns over data privacy and national security. The app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has been under scrutiny for its data handling practices, prompting pressure to either ban the app or place it under American control.
