As the clock was ticking for ByteDance to sell TikTok as a bipartisan law was poised to ban the popular app, President Donald Trump announced he is giving the company another 75 days to find a buyer.
He said his administration is "working very hard" on a deal to save TikTok and said his administration is working in good faith to come to a resolution.
"We do not want TikTok to 'go dark,'" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal."
A bipartisan law passed late in the Biden administration and signed by President Joe Biden was set to force the app to shut down in the U.S. due to national security fears. Under the new U.S. law, ByteDance is required to divest at least 80% ownership of TikTok to a non-Chinese entity.
The app was headed for a blackout in the U.S. in January when President Trump announced that he would give ByteDance 75 days to find a buyer before enforcing the law.
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China appears hesitant to allow such a sale, complicating the situation further. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has suggested that tariffs could be used as leverage in the negotiations.
"ByteDance has been in discussion with the U.S. Government regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S.," A ByteDance spokesperson said. "An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law."
As the deadline approached, the future of TikTok in the United States remains uncertain, leaving millions of users and stakeholders on edge.
The January order called for a 75-day hold on the law to give the incoming Trump administration time to determine a course forward that protects U.S. national security while avoiding shutting down TikTok. President Trump also directed the attorney general to not enforce the law during that time period. TikTok has remained active since then.
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The president has also floated the idea of a deal where the U.S. government could take partial ownership of TikTok so it could remain operational in the U.S.
