Key points
- TikTok was already twice granted a reprieve from the ban
- Previous deadline was due to end on June 19
- US law requires TikTok’s sale or ban on “national security” grounds
ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Donald Trump will extend a June 19 deadline for ByteDance to divest the US assets of short video app TikTok for 90 days despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown absent significant progress, the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump had already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January.
“President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
A federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump’s January inauguration.
President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running.” – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
“This extension will last 90 days, which the administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure,” she said according to Reuters.
Trump, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video sharing app.
“I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.”
Digital Cold War?
Trump said at the time that a group of purchasers was ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance “a lot of money” for the video-clip-sharing sensation’s US operations.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business.
The president is “just not motivated to do anything about TikTok,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle. “Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape.”
According to AFP, Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform after coming to believe it helped him win young voters’ support in the November election.
US-China tech rivalry
Motivated by national security fears and belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor.
TikTok “has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control,” said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain.
The Republican president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office. A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19.
Tariff turmoil
Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over his tariffs on Beijing.
ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be “subject to approval under Chinese law”.
Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.
Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on board to reduce ByteDance’s share in the new TikTok.
