is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform.

For the third time, President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok to spin out from its Chinese parent company or face a US ban. As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a statement Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order on Thursday extending the deadline another 90 days, landing the new deadline in mid-September.

The Trump administration will spend the next 90 days “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,” Leavitt said.

The extension, first signed on January 20th, theoretically offers legal cover for TikTok’s US service providers who are subject to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act from the hundreds of billions in penalties they could face for keeping the app online and in US app stores. But that legal cover was already shaky given that Trump’s extensions are not codified into the law, which was passed overwhelmingly by a bipartisan vote in Congress, and upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court.

As The Verge previously reported, ByteDance and an Oracle-led coalition had nearly hammered out a deal in April, but Trump’s tariffs abruptly blew up the tentative agreement. While trade tensions between the US and China have simmered down, there’s been no recent news about resurrecting that deal or another one. Even when a sale seemed likely, it was unclear whether China would allow ByteDance to sell the valuable algorithm that powers TikTok’s video recommendations.

“The whole thing is a sham if the algorithm doesn’t move from out of Beijing’s hands”

Several lawmakers, including those who’ve criticized a divest-or-ban law for TikTok and ByteDance, have warned that Trump’s repeated extensions are untenable and illegal. After Trump’s last extension in April, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) told The Verge the move was “against the law” and said “the whole thing is a sham if the algorithm doesn’t move from out of Beijing’s hands.”

Even before the second extension, Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who oppose a ban of TikTok, wrote Trump that it would be “unacceptable and unworkable for your Administration to continue ignoring the requirements in the law.” They warned, “any further extensions of the TikTok deadline will require Oracle, Apple, Google, and other companies to continue risking ruinous legal liability, a difficult decision to justify in perpetuity.”

That’s because TikTok service providers in the US can be fined for facilitating access to the app after the ban deadline, and Trump’s extensions fall outside of the mechanisms allowed for in the law. So far, however, these companies appear to be relying on assurances from the administration that they won’t be sued for keeping TikTok online, although it reportedly took a letter from the US attorney general herself to assuage Apple and Google’s concerns.

A court could evaluate whether Trump’s actions are legal, but only if somebody sues to stop the extension — and so far, nobody has. Earlier this month, though, a Google shareholder filed a lawsuit against the company for allegedly failing to share internal records about its decision to flout the law under the Justice Department’s assurances. The same shareholder had already filed suit against the DOJ for allegedly failing to share information about its decision not to enforce the law against Apple and Google.

While members of Trump’s party generally haven’t gone so far as to call his extensions illegal, a dozen House Republicans said in a statement in April that “any resolution must ensure that U.S. 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.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told reporters that month that Trump “ought to enforce the statute and ban TikTok. This middle way, I don’t think is viable.”

But it’s not clear what would prevent Trump from approving indefinite extensions or a deal that doesn’t meet the letter of the law. As Hawley acknowledged while speaking to reporters in April, “Congress, we don’t have an enforcement arm of our own.”

Update June 19th, 12:00 PM: Post has been updated to note Trump signed the order extending the deadline.

TikTok ban delayed again: Trump extends deadline for U.S. deal by 90 days Donald Trump has granted TikTok a third extension, allowing the app to continue operating in the U.S. for another 90 days. The delay is intended to finalise a deal to separate TikTok’s American operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

New Delhi:

Donald Trump has reportedly extended the deadline for TikTok’s U.S. ban by another 90 days, marking the third such reprieve for the popular video-sharing app. The move allows more time for finalising a deal to spin off TikTok’s American business from Chinese parent company ByteDance, ensuring that it becomes a majority U.S.-owned entity.

Executive order coming to block penalties

The White House confirmed that Trump will sign a new executive order instructing the Justice Department not to impose penalties on TikTok or tech companies like Google and Apple for continuing to support the app.

“President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt, adding that the administration will spend the 90-day window ensuring a secure deal is reached.

Trade tensions with China stall progress

A previous agreement to localize TikTok’s U.S. operations hit a roadblock after Trump imposed severe tariffs on China, leading ByteDance to hold back on seeking approval from the Chinese government. Despite this, TikTok has said the deal was never finalized and would need Beijing’s sign-off.

Trump, however, remains optimistic: “I think President Xi [Jinping] will ultimately approve it,” he said on Tuesday.

Data privacy concerns prompt Bipartisan pressure

TikTok’s links to China have raised national security concerns, particularly around American user data potentially being accessed by the Chinese Communist Party. These fears led both Republicans and Democrats to support the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in April 2024.

The law initially set a January 19, 2025 deadline for TikTok to divest or face a ban. That deadline was already extended once to mid-June and now moves to mid-September 2025.

What’s next for TikTok in the U.S.?

As the new deadline approaches, the focus remains on reaching a U.S.-approved ownership deal that satisfies both American lawmakers and Chinese authorities. Until then, TikTok continues to operate under close scrutiny as negotiations unfold.

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order extending the deadline by another 90 days for TikTok to be sold to a US entity or banned in the country.

The video-sharing platform, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, now has until September 17 to find an American buyer, according to a post by Trump on Truth Social.

Trump signed another extension for TikTok on Thursday. AFP via Getty Images

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He had floated the idea of another extension in May, telling reporters: “Probably, yeah. Probably have to get China approval but I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

The social platform now has until September to find a buyer. REUTERS

It’s the third extension Trump has granted the platform after it helped him win over young voters in the 2024 election.

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A congressionally mandated ban on the app was initially due to take effect in January, but the app went dark in the US for just 14 hours before Trump issued a reprieve.

The president has called for ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok on national security grounds, claiming it could give China access to a vast reserve of American user data.

President Trump has once again delayed the enforcement of a bipartisan law that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. as a deal to separate TikTok from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, has remained elusive.

By: CBS News

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President Trump has once again delayed the enforcement of a bipartisan law that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. as a deal to separate TikTok from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, has remained elusive.

The president announced Thursday that he signed an executive order pushing back the deadline for enforcing a law passed by Congress until mid-September — the third delay in the law’s implementation since his inauguration in January. The previous extension expired Thursday. Citing national security concerns, Congress passed the law last year with bipartisan support giving ByteDance until Jan. 19 to fully sever ties with TikTok or be cut off from U.S. app stores and web-hosting services.

“I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025),” the president wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The orders have directed the Justice Department to not take action or impose penalties against companies like Apple and Google for failure to remove the widely popular video-sharing app from their platforms.

TikTok released a statement thanking the president for the extension.

“We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance’s office,” the TikTok statement said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week that the president would sign the executive order delaying enforcement of the law for 90 days.

“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. 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,” Leavitt said in a statement Tuesday.

When Mr. Trump announced the last extension in early April, his administration had reached an agreement that would have spun TikTok’s operations in the U.S. into a new company that was owned and operated by a majority of American investors, a source familiar with the plans said at the time. But after Mr. Trump announced sweeping tariffs, ByteDance told the White House that China would no longer approve the deal until issues over trade and tariffs were resolved, the source said.

However, ByteDance said after the April announcement that a deal had not been reached because there were still key issues to be resolved, and noted that any deal would be subject to the Chinese government’s approval.

Mr. Trump acknowledged as much in May, telling reporters that “we’ll probably have to get China’s approval.”

“China’s never easy,” he said. “I’d like to save TikTok. I mean, TikTok was very good to me.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump expressed confidence that China would sign off on an eventual deal, saying that “I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

The president also reiterated his support for TikTok on June 12, touting his popularity on the app that he unsuccessfully tried to ban during his first term.

“I was No. 1 on TikTok in its history. Can you believe that?” Mr. Trump claimed. “So I guess I like TikTok.”

Mr. Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month in a 90-minute conversation that the U.S. leader said “was focused almost entirely on trade.” Neither countries’ summaries of the call mentioned TikTok. Days later, senior U.S. and Chinese trade representatives met in London and reached a “framework deal” to ease the trade war.

Testifying to the Senate Finance Committee on June 12 after the trade talks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said TikTok “was not discussed at the meetings in London.”

“I have no visibility into TikTok,” he told the committee.

TikTok briefly and voluntarily shut down before a January deadline, but reinstated access to U.S. users after Mr. Trump, who took office one day after the deadline, vowed to take action. Still, Apple and Google waited nearly a month to restore TikTok to their U.S. app stores after Mr. Trump issued the first executive order.

But there’s been little action from Congress in response to the Trump administration ignoring the law, despite lawmakers sounding the alarm for years that TikTok could serve as a vessel for China to spy on Americans, collect vast amounts of their data or serve them propaganda.

“The courts have been really clear on this,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told reporters in early June. “I think we ought to enforce the law.”

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said Tuesday he wasn’t sure whether the president had the legal authority to not enforce the law, but noted there haven’t been any repercussions.

“I just want finality,” Grassley said. “I’d like to have the president say how much more talk are we going to put up with? I want some certainty and just [to] know that Congress isn’t being played when we make a decision [for it] to be sold.”

Kristin Brown, Cristina Corujo, Patrick Maguire and Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump has again extended the deadline for a TikTok ban to go into effect, allowing the Chinese-owned social platform to continue operating for the 90 days.

Trump said earlier in the week that he planned to give TikTok a third extension and signed an executive order on June 19 making it official. It was the third time that Trump has authorized a delay.

The popular social media app’s parent company, ByteDance, now has until Sept. 17 to secure a deal that satisfies a legal requirement. Lawmakers ordered TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States over national security concerns.