In case you missed it, because we did, President Donald Trump recently issued yet another delay in the federal effort to force a separation between TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, giving the video app a 90-day lifeline as negotiations continue without resolution. The move marks the third time enforcement of the law has been postponed since Trump took office in January.
The president made the announcement Thursday on Truth Social, stating, “I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” The new deadline now gives TikTok and ByteDance until mid-September to finalize a deal that satisfies national security concerns or risk removal from U.S. app stores and hosting platforms.
The law, passed last year with strong bipartisan support, originally gave ByteDance until January 19 to divest from TikTok or face a complete shutdown in the United States. Lawmakers have warned that TikTok’s connection to a China-based company poses risks to user privacy and U.S. data infrastructure.
The latest executive order also prevents the Justice Department from taking action against companies like Apple and Google for continuing to allow TikTok on their platforms during the extension.
In response, TikTok issued a public statement expressing appreciation for the temporary relief. “We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance’s office,” the company said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Trump remains focused on keeping TikTok accessible while protecting national security. “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,” she said.
Back in April, officials close to the matter said a tentative plan had been reached to create a new American-owned company to manage TikTok’s U.S. operations. But soon after, rising tensions over tariffs derailed progress. ByteDance reportedly informed the White House that China would not approve the agreement until key trade disagreements were addressed.
Despite prior optimism, ByteDance later clarified that several critical matters still needed to be resolved before a deal could move forward and reminded all parties that any agreement would require formal approval from the Chinese government.
In May, President Trump acknowledged the challenge of securing cooperation from Beijing. “We’ll probably have to get China’s approval,” he told reporters at the time. “China’s never easy. I’d like to save TikTok. I mean, TikTok was very good to me.”
For now, the clock is ticking once again, and the next three months could determine whether TikTok stays live or faces a full U.S. ban.