Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline by 90 Days

In a third executive move this year, President Trump has signed a new 90-day extension for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations, postponing the impending ban until September 17, 2025. This latest reprieve follows earlier delays in January and April, passing on the mandatory enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act The administration stresses that this additional time will facilitate a legitimate sale and safeguard the privacy of over 170 million American users.

While the White House maintains that the extension is aimed at securing a “deal so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe,” critics question the president’s legal authority for granting repeated delays. Congressional Republicans, though backing the law that mandates divestiture, have expressed growing frustration with the postponements and are urging enforcement, even as they remain hesitant to challenge Trump directly.

Negotiations to transfer TikTok to U.S.-based ownership continue, with prospective buyers including Amazon, AppLovin-backed groups, and public investor coalitions exploring options. However, Beijing’s need to sign off, coupled with escalating U.S.–China trade tensions and tariff policies, has repeatedly stalled progress. Meanwhile, competitors such as Meta and Snap are poised to benefit if TikTok’s ambiguity leads to user migration.