US extends TikTok sale deadline by another 90 days

Despite a law that required a sale or shutdown, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that extends the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest its US assets from the short-form video app TikTok by another 90 days.

The president stated in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social on Thursday that “I just signed the Executive Order extending the deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025).

Otherwise, Thursday would have been the day of the ban.

As we work with Vice President [JD] Vance’s Office, we are appreciative of President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok is accessible to more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million US businesses, according to a statement from TikTok.

The platform’s office has engaged in negotiations with Vance.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was passed in April 2024, required TikTok to cease operations in the US on January 19 unless ByteDance completed the sale of the app’s US assets or demonstrated significant progress in the direction of a sale.

The Supreme Court upheld the ban after the Supreme Court heard a challenge in the case in January.

third expansion

The president has given the deadline a third time this year. Trump opted not to impose the law when he began his second term as president on January 20. He first extended the deadline to early April, and then again to June 19 last month.

Democrats’ senators argued that Trump is not authorized by law to extend the deadline and that a proposed deal would not meet the legal requirements.

The app’s sale or shutdown, according to the White House’s statement on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated to reporters on Tuesday that “President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark.”

She added that the administration will spend three months ensuring that TikTok users can continue using the site with assurance that their data is secure when the deal is closed.

Trump stated in March that he would be willing to lower China’s tariffs in exchange for a sale of the app by ByteDance.

This spring, TikTok’s US operations were being merged into a new US-based company that would be majority-owned and run by US investors, according to a deal that had been in the works. After China declared it would not support the deal due to the tariffs the Trump administration had imposed, that was put on hold.