US President Donald Trump has granted Tiktok a second 75-day extension to comply with laws requiring that the highly popular video app sells US businesses or faces bans within the country.
“I don’t want Tiktok to ‘dark’,” Trump wrote in The Truth Society. “We look forward to working with Tiktok and China to close the transaction.” The platform is currently owned by a consolidation of Chinese companies.
Trump’s first extension was granted after he took office in January and was scheduled to expire on Saturday.
Social media platforms say they have over 170 million users in the US, but in the US, they must close in the US under laws passed by Congress unless a buyer is found.
In a statement Friday, Bytedans said that “the agreement has not been enforced” despite being debated with the Trump administration.
“There are important issues that need to be resolved. Any agreement is subject to approval under Chinese law,” the spokesperson said.
The administration of former US President Joe Biden had argued that Tiktok could be used in China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
Congress passed a bipartisan law last year that gave them six months to sell control in Tiktok or six months to see apps blocked in the US.
Opponents of the ban cite freedom of speech as a reason to keep the platform open.
A new extension arises when the Trump administration attempts to place social media platforms under American ownership and broker contracts to keep popular apps running in the US.
“The transaction requires more work to ensure that all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social Platform on Friday.
Tiktok’s contract reportedly was nearly completed on Wednesday, but collapsed that same day after Trump announced global tariffs on sweep, including China.
A representative from Baitedan contacted the White House to inform China would not approve the contract unless negotiations on tariffs were made, a source familiar with the deal told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
An unnamed source said the plan was for Trump to sign an order to begin a 120-day period to close the deal, allowing time to close the documents and secure funding.
The deal had received approval from existing investors, new investors, ordinances and the US government, but China supported it after Trump imposed global import taxes, CBS reports.
China faces a 54% total tariff on goods imported into the US, retaliating with 34% counter tariffs.
Reports suggest that some potential buyers on Tiktok have recently emerged.
According to the BBC’s US partner CBS, Amazon made a final midway offer to the White House to acquire the platform, but the company declined to comment.
Several other potential buyers include billionaire Frank McCourt and Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary. Alexis Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit, said he took part in McCourt’s bid.
Computing Giant Microsoft, Private Equity Giant Blackstone, venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz and search engine confusion AI are also reportedly winning stakes.
Trump said his administration is in contact with four separate groups interested in Tiktock’s potential deals, but he has not given them a name.
Vice-President JD Vance is leading the administration’s efforts to find buyers.
The president also suggests that the US can offer a transaction that agrees to approve the sale of Tiktok in exchange for relief from US tariffs on Chinese imports.
“We want to continue working with China in good faith. I understand that I am not very happy with our mutual tariffs,” Trump wrote in the Truth Society.
He added that trade collection is “the most powerful economic tool and is important to our national security.”
