(Credit: Zain bin Awais)
Not to worry, TikTok fans. The app is sticking around, at least for another 75 days.
President Trump today said he is signing an executive order to keep the ByteDance-owned app alive given that his administration has “made tremendous progress” on an acquisition deal, which “requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In a statement, ByteDance says it’s “been in discussion with the US Government regarding a potential solution for TikTok US. An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”
Trump didn’t say who might acquire TikTok. Those rumored to be in the running include Oracle, AI startup Perplexity, a coalition of billionaires, and even Amazon. (Elon Musk says he’s not buying the app.) The deal will likely be some sort of joint venture that gives a US company (or even the US itself) a majority stake.
In February, Trump signed an executive order that directs the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to deliver a plan within 90 days for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, which is a type of investment fund owned by the government. "We're going to be doing something, perhaps, with TikTok," Trump said at the time.
Can Trump Delay the TikTok Ban Again?
In April 2024, former President Biden signed a foreign aid bill that banned the social media app, effective Jan. 19, 2025, unless it divested itself from its Chinese owners, citing national security issues. TikTok battled the issue all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
TikTok briefly went dark in the US and was pulled from app stores on Jan. 18. It returned a few hours later, ostensibly because Trump gave the app “assurances” that he would not direct the DOJ to go after app stores hosting TikTok once he returned to the White House.
The apps did not return to Google Play or the App Store for almost a month, however, given the uncertainty around potential fines.
Technically, the law allowed the president to delay a ban by 90 days if a divestiture deal was imminent. Instead, Trump signed an executive order that delayed it by 75 days, even though a deal did not appear to be in sight. That was set to expire on April 5, and he's now going for a 150-day delay, though a deal could potentially be signed before hitting 90 days.
If not, who’s going to do anything about it? The Republican-controlled Congress? Attorney General Pam Bondi? Even TikTok is being rather subdued; there are no in-app warnings about a potential shutdown or videos from CEO Shou Zi Chew this time around begging for creators to contact their lawmakers. (His last video is a quick clip of him in Starbucks from Jan. 20.)
In a statement, Republicans on the House Select Committee on China said they "look forward to working with the Administration on addressing the national security concerns surrounding TikTok’s ownership.
"Any resolution must ensure that US law is followed, and that the Chinese Communist Party does not have access to American user data or the ability to manipulate the content consumed by Americans," they added. "We remain committed to enforcing the framework established by Congress to safeguard the American people. We stand firm in our position and look forward to more details from the Administration to ensure that any deal aligns with national security and US laws."
On X, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said the extension is "100% illegal. Trump seems to be biding time to work out a deal where one of his political allies takes over TikTok and turns it into a MAGA propaganda machine. Rumors are that China will stay in partial control."
At this point, of course, the world is more focused on the effects of Trump’s tariff plans. Trump mentioned that in his Truth Social post, noting that China is "not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!).
"This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security!" Trump added. "We do not want TikTok to 'go dark.' We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The Washington Post reports that the White House had negotiated a deal with the Chinese for a TikTok sale on Wednesday, but Trump's tariff announcement ruined that, so now it's back to the drawing board.