Trump administration to extend TikTok ban deadline for third time

The logo of TikTok is seen on the screen of a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, March 13, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

U.S. President Donald Trump will extend the deadline for ByteDance Ltd. to divest TikTok's U.S. operations for the third time, allowing the app to continue operating in the United States as negotiations continue, the White House said Tuesday.

"As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "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."

This marks the third extension since Trump took office in January. He initially signed an executive order delaying the TikTok ban by 75 days, saying it would permit his administration "an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok." In April, he granted another 75-day extension to avoid disrupting the app's operations. The latest extension expires on June 19.

In his first term, Trump signed an executive order effectively seeking to ban the app in the United States unless ByteDance sold its U.S. operations to an American company, but the order didn't go into effect amid legal challenges.

In April 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok, citing national security concerns that critics called unfounded. Under the law, failure to comply would require app store operators like Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their platforms starting Jan. 19, 2025.

The app went dark for hours and resumed its service on Jan. 19, one day before Trump's inauguration for his second term.