President Trump has once again delayed the TikTok ban, extending the deadline by another 90 days. This decision follows a series of delays stretching back to 2024 when US Congress passed a law mandating that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, divest most of its US-based operations. The law required 80% of those operations to be sold to US companies, a plan that received backing from the US Supreme Court.
Despite the initial push to enforce the ban, the impact was minimal, with only a brief 13-hour disruption.
Upon his return to office, Trump granted TikTok a 75-day grace period, and then extended it further. The latest 90-day delay comes as negotiations for a potential sale continue. Reuters reported that a deal was close to finalization in early April, with US government approval and backing from both new and existing investors, but the deal collapsed amid escalating tensions in the US-China trade war.
TikTok’s investors now have until mid-September to strike a new deal with ByteDance. Under the terms of the original law, 80% of TikTok’s US operations must be owned by US investors, with the remaining 20% retained by ByteDance. However, the Chinese government must approve any deal, and given the current trade tensions, this is no easy task.
In the meantime, TikTok has introduced its “MVPs of POV” program, a new initiative aimed at fostering creativity on the platform. With the clock ticking, it remains to be seen whether ByteDance and its investors can reach a deal before the September deadline, or whether the political and financial obstacles will cause the process to drag on even longer.
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