TikTok ban update: Donald Trump gives short-form app a second extension by 75 days

US President Donald Trump has signed a second executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to finalise the sale of its American operations, amid rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over Chinese approval. The move delays a congressionally mandated ban on the popular video-sharing app, originally set to take effect on Saturday.

The extension gives TikTok's parent company, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, until 19 June to secure a deal to divest its US business or face a ban under a bipartisan law passed by Congress last year. Trump confirmed the development on his Truth Social platform, writing, "We do not want TikTok to 'go dark'. We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal."

According to the Associated Press, a near-final agreement was in place as recently as Wednesday, which would have seen TikTok’s US operations spun off into a new company owned primarily by American investors. ByteDance was expected to retain a minority stake, 20%, according to Reuters.

However, the deal reportedly collapsed after Trump announced sweeping new global tariffs that included China. CBS News reported that ByteDance representatives informed the White House that China would no longer approve the deal unless negotiations around the tariffs could resume. A source familiar with the negotiations said the agreement had been cleared by ByteDance, existing and new investors, and the US government, but Chinese regulators reversed course following Trump’s tariff announcement.

The Chinese embassy in Washington DC responded by criticising the move, saying it "opposed practices that violate the basic principles of the market economy". With China now facing a 54% aggregate tariff on goods imported into the US, and retaliating with 34% in counter tariffs, the trade dispute has further complicated the already delicate TikTok negotiations.

Despite the setback, the Trump administration is actively trying to broker a resolution that would keep TikTok available to its more than 170 million US users. US Vice-President JD Vance is leading the effort and has been directly involved in talks with both ByteDance officials and potential American investors, AP reported.

Trump hinted at a possible trade-off, suggesting the US could offer tariff relief in exchange for China's approval of the TikTok sale. "We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs," he posted, adding that the tariffs were "the most powerful economic tool, and very important to our national security".

ByteDance, meanwhile, confirmed ongoing discussions with the administration but acknowledged that no formal agreement had been executed. "There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law," a spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

Several high-profile buyers are reportedly vying to acquire TikTok. These include Amazon, which submitted a last-minute offer, according to CBS, as well as a group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Other potential bidders include Microsoft, Blackstone, Andreessen Horowitz, and Perplexity AI.

While the ultimate fate of TikTok in the US remains uncertain, the clock is ticking once again—and this time, geopolitics may matter more than market economics.