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President Trump to issue a third extension for ByteDance’s TikTok divestiture deadline, pushing it to September.
The move signals continued political maneuvering despite bipartisan concerns over data privacy and national security.
Regulatory uncertainty may hinder deal progress amid geopolitical and legal challenges
In a move underscoring the political tightrope between tech, trade, and national security, President Donald Trump will extend the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok operations for a third time, the White House confirmed Tuesday.
The 90-day extension, expected to be formalized through a new executive order this week, moves the compliance deadline from June 19 to mid-September. Despite a federal mandate requiring the app’s sale or shutdown absent demonstrable progress, the Trump administration is choosing a more flexible enforcement approach.
“President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She added that the administration remains committed to finalizing a transaction that protects American users’ data.
TikTok, which boasts 170 million U.S. users, played a strategic role in Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign by helping mobilize younger voters. That political benefit appears to be influencing the president’s softer stance toward the app’s future.
A proposed deal to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a U.S.-controlled entity was reportedly shelved earlier this year after Beijing opposed it, citing concerns over U.S. tariffs. President Trump has floated potential tariff relief as a bargaining chip to revive the agreement.
Democratic lawmakers remain critical, questioning both the legality of the extensions and whether the proposed ownership structure would comply with existing U.S. laws.
The regulatory uncertainty continues to cloud the fate of one of the world’s most downloaded apps, as both U.S. and Chinese stakeholders weigh their next moves.
