The White House said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump will extend the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of short-video app TikTok by another 90 days.
TikTok faced a June 19 deadline (Thursday) despite a law that had mandated a sale or shutdown if no significant progress had been to the group’s status.
Trump has already twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban on TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January.
ALSO SEE: Firms Underestimating Risks From Carbon-Fuelled Climate Change
“President Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”
The TikTok deadline stems from a national security law, which the Supreme Court upheld just before Trump took office for a second time.
The law aims to address concern that TikTok could be used by China for spying and political manipulation. About 170 million Americans have downloaded the app.
If the deadline expired, it would mean that app store operators like Google, Apple, plus internet service providers must act to block downloads of TikTok, or face penalties for supporting TikTok.
Trump said last month and again last week that he would extend the deadline if no deal was reached.
A range of US companies such as Oracle have said they would like to take over TikTok’s operations in the US, but it’s still not clear if Beijing would permit that.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
ALSO SEE:
China AI Firm Used SE Asia Data Centre to Beat Chip Curbs – WSJ
Trade Truce Done With 55% Tariffs on China Exports, Trump Says
Unusual Fall in China’s LNG Imports Points to Industrial Slump
S Korea Forms Task Force to Speed up Trade Talks With US
US May Ban Entry to Citizens of 36 More States: Rubio Memo
Trump Will Extend TikTok Ban Deadline Again as Tariffs Stall Deal
China Bats Away Trump Offer of Tariffs Reduction For TikTok Deal
US Investors in ByteDance ‘Most Likely to Win Control of TikTok’
TikTok to Invest $3.8 Billion in Data Centre in Thailand
Bids Rush in For TikTok as Americans Scramble to Get the App
Forced Sale of TikTok is About Security, Not Free Speech, US Says
‘China Won’t Allow It’: TikTok Compares Divestiture to Chip Ban
