Olivier Bergeron / Unsplash
President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 19 granting TikTok another 90-day extension from a US ban, as negotiations continue over whether the company can sell its US operations to American buyers in order to avoid being shut down.
At the center of the ban is the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan law signed April 2024, which gave the federal government new authority to force foreign-owned apps deemed national security threats to either divest their US operations or face a ban. TikTok, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, is the law’s primary target.
Under the law, ByteDance was required to sell TikTok’s US assets by Jan. 19, 2025. The statue allows only one 90-day extension beyond that deadline if a “qualified divestiture” is underway. Trump, however, has already granted two extensions, raising growing questions about whether additional extensions are legally permitted.
His latest order now pushes the deadline into mid-September.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in a June 17 report, “As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark.”
Leavitt said the administration will use the 90-day extension to work toward a final deal that ensures “the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”
The popular video app has long faced national security concerns over potential Chinese government access to US user data.
Still, TikTok’s influence has only expanded since national security concerns first surfaced, now boasting over 170 million US users and generating $10.4 billion in US ad revenue last year. Its stronghold among younger voters is particularly striking, with polls showing nearly half rely on the platform for political news.
The extension also comes on the heels of a new US-China trade deal finalized June 11, which set tariffs on Chinese imports at 55% and US exports to China at 10%, as CatholicVote reported.
