Tiktok will stay in the U.S. for at least three months as President Donald Trump prepares to extend the sales or ban deadline for the third time since taking office this year.
“President Trump will sign another executive order this week to keep Tiktok up and running,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
The popular video sharing app should be sold to U.S. buyers in China by the U.S. by Bytedance, the U.S., before the January deadline.
Tiktok and Bytedance did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
Levitt said the 90-day extension would “make sure the deal is completed so that Americans can continue to use Tiktok and ensure their data is secure.”
Trump ahead of Leavitt announcement Tell the BBC He would “possibly” expand Tiktok.
“We may have to get China’s recognition,” Trump said. “I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi Jinping will eventually approve it.”
When asked if he had a legal basis to extend the deadline, he replied: “We do.”
Trump’s extension is contrary to Congress’ wishes that passed sales or ties last year. His former former President Joe Biden immediately signed the bill into law.
The purpose of the law is to address the concerns of Tiktok with 170 million US users, which can be used in China as a tool for espionage and political manipulation.
The Supreme Court agreed to the lower court and upheld the law before Trump set himself in office.
The platform briefly turned black for several hours on the weekend before Trump took office.
After Tiktok got the platform again, he praised Trump for getting the platform again.
Trump is trying to sell Tiktok to U.S. buyers in 2020, his 2020 term.
But last year, Trump said he liked the platform because he thought it helped him win the 2024 presidential election.
“I have a warm place in my heart for Tiktok because I won the young people with a score of 34,” Trump said in December.
Trump’s unilateral deadline expansion has led some analysts to dismiss the notion that a ban could occur during his tenure.
“What ban? There’s nothing ‘imminent for a potential Tiktok ban,” said Kelsey Chickering, chief analyst at Forrester.
“Tictok’s behavior also shows that they have confidence in the future as they launch new AI video tools in Cannes this week.”
Ms Chickering added: “Small players like Snap will try to steal the sharing in “uncertain times” but they won’t succeed because Tiktok’s next round is simply uncertain.”
The Trump administration said in April that the United States and China have reached a deal that would put Tiktok’s U.S. operations majority control. The deal has not yet been realized.
“There are key issues to be resolved,” a spokesperson said at the time. “Any agreement will be approved by Chinese law.”
Trump said he would be willing to see it sold to cloud computing giant Oracle, whose co-founder Larry Ellison is a long-time Trump ally.
Billionaire Frank McCourt, Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian are part of another bidding team for the platform.
Jimmy Donaldson, the world’s largest YouTuber, also known as Mrbeast, said he is also interested in buying Tiktok as part of a different investor group.
