The White House announced today that President Donald Trump will sign a new executive order allowing TikTok an additional 90 days to avoid a ban in the U.S. This is the third instance in which Trump has postponed enforcement of a law that technically began in January.
According to CNN, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt commented in a statement:
“President Trump does not want TikTok to vanish. (…) This extension will last 90 days, during which the Administration will work to finalize this deal, ensuring American users can continue enjoying TikTok with the confidence that their data remains safe and secure.”
This decision allows TikTok to remain available for its 170 million users in the U.S., despite bipartisan legislation that, in theory, still requires ByteDance to divest the app or face an outright ban in the country.
A ban that’s never truly been enforced
The initial sale-or-ban deadline lapsed in mid-January, prompting a short 14-hour TikTok service interruption before Trump intervened with a 75-day extension as one of his first actions in office. When that delay expired in April, he announced another 75-day postponement.
With the second deadline approaching this week, TikTok now receives an even longer, 90-day reprieve, coinciding with U.S.-China efforts to ease trade and technology tensions.
What’s next?
On Tuesday, Trump expressed optimism about reaching a deal, stating to reporters that a sale of TikTok will “probably” require approval from the Chinese government:
“I think we’ll get it. I believe President Xi will ultimately approve it, yes.”
The deal that nearly materialized earlier this year included a consortium of American venture capital firms, private equity groups, and tech corporations investing in a new U.S.-controlled TikTok spin-off, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake limited to 20%.
Other potential bidders have also surfaced, including Amazon, AI company Perplexity, and a group of celebrity investors fronted by YouTube’s MrBeast. For the moment, though, ByteDance-owned TikTok has secured yet another 90 days in the U.S. App Store.
