President Donald Trump announced Friday he is extending the deadline for a deal to save TikTok in the United States, saying it needs ‘more work.’
The popular video app faced a Saturday deadline a Saturday deadline to be sold to an American company or face shutdown in the United States.
But Trump is giving the process another 75 days.
‘My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days,’ he announced on Truth Social.
The president is considering a deal that would allow China‘s ByteDance to keep control of its algorithm, which would be leased to a U.S. company where ByteDance has a minority stake, according to ABC News.
The algorithm is what makes TikTok so addictive but the app remains a source of national security concerns over Chinese ownership.
Trump said talks with China continued and argued his new tariffs, which have angered Beijing, will ultimately help get a deal signed.
‘We do not want TikTok to “go dark,”‘ he wrote.
President Donald Trump is weighing his options on TikTok
Several companies have expressed interest in having a stake in the app.
Amazon threw its hat in the final days of negotiations. And Oracle, which already provides TikTok with most of its backend technical support, is interested.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday that the final deal would have ‘multiple’ investors.
The algorithm leasing proposal has been controversial in the White House as there is concern whether that would remove ByteDance from having operational control of the app.
TikTok is one of the most powerful media sources in America today.
The company, which hosts around 170 million US users, has grown to be one of the largest online shopping marketplaces with millions of dollars in daily sales.
Congress passed the TikTok ban in 2024 with overwhelming bipartisan support demanding China lose its control of the popular video service.
Lawmakers had national security concerns that an app used by more than half of Americans was controlled by China.
TikTok fought the ban all the way to the Supreme Court, calling it a violation of free speech rights, but the court upheld the law in early 2025.
ByteDance didn’t agree to terms with any US-based companies and went dark for a few hours on January 19th, the day before President Trump’s inauguration.
But Trump, who pushed to ban the app in his first term, had changed his stance in the past year and fought to keep the social media site operational in the US.
After his inauguration, he signed a delay in implementing the ban but now that new deadline is rapidly approaching.
TikTok has 170 million American users
Trump admits to having ‘warm spot’ for TikTok after lifting ban
Trump also told reporters that TikTok is a good example of how he can use tariffs to make deals with other countries.
‘You have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say: ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?” Trump said on Thursday.
‘We could use tariffs in order to get something in return.’
He noted: ‘If somebody said that we’re going to give you something that’s so phenomenal, as long as they’re giving us something, that’s good.’
Even if Trump approves a deal, China will need to sign off on it and Beijing is not too happy with the White House given the new tariffs the president has implemented.
China faces a 54% tariffs on goods imported into the U.S.
But it responded forcefully on Friday, slapping a 34% tariff on American imports.
Trump said discussions with China continue.
‘We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!),’ he wrote on Truth Social.
‘This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security! We do not want TikTok to “go dark.” We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.’
