Trump says he’ll extend TikTok deadline again if no deal reached by June 19: Report

Donald Trump’s return to the White House came with a sharp pivot on one of the most watched tech battles in the world. As TikTok stared down a federal ban, the US president told NBC News he would extend the June 19 deadline for China’s ByteDance to sell its US operations. “I would ... I'd like to see it done,” Trump said, adding that he had developed a “sweet spot” for the app after it helped him win over younger voters in the 2024 election. “TikTok is – it's very interesting, but it will be protected,” he said.

Talks to spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new firm majority-owned and run by American investors were already underway, but stalled after China signaled it would block the plan. Beijing’s pushback followed Trump’s renewed tariffs on Chinese goods, further complicating negotiations.

A source close to ByteDance’s US investors told Reuters last month that efforts toward a resolution were still ongoing, though the broader trade tensions would need to be addressed before any deal could move forward.

Congress had passed a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets or face a ban. In January, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld that law. The original deadline was set for January 19.

TikTok went dark the night before. Users were greeted with a stark message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” Apple and Google removed the app from their stores, in compliance with the federal law that penalizes platforms for distributing the app past the deadline.

Trump, sworn in on January 20, issued an executive order on his first day, granting ByteDance an additional 75 days. He pushed the deadline to April, and then again to June 19. TikTok now remains operational in the US under that extension.