Trump Delays TikTok Ban Deadline Again, Saying Deal ‘Requires More Work’

President Trump said he’s going to delay enforcement of a U.S. law that requires TikTok‘s parent company to sell to non-Chinese owners for another 75 days — setting a new deadline of mid-June.

In a post Friday on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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.”

TikTok had faced a looming April 5 deadline set by Trump to reach a deal that would comply with the U.S. law — or effectively be banned from being hosted or distributed in the country. The app has been painted as a national security threat to the U.S. by many American lawmakers because of its ownership by China’s ByteDance.

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ByteDance said Friday that it has been in discussions with U.S. government officials “regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S.” and that “an agreement has not been executed.”

“There are key matters to be resolved,” ByteDance said. “Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”

Trump’s second punt on the TikTok ban comes a day after VP JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News that the administration would announce a deal by Saturday that would keep the app legal. It also came as financial markets entered their second day of significant declines in response to Trump’s plan to enact steep tariffs on most countries, including China.

A deal led by the Trump administration to spin off TikTok’s U.S. business into a new company — majority-owned by U.S. investors, with ByteDance retaining a stake of less than 20% to comply with the law — had been “largely finalized” Wednesday, including approval from ByteDance, Reuters reported. But the Chinese government refused to sign off on the plan because of Trump’s new tariffs, according to the report.

Trump technically does not have authority under the TikTok-targeted legislation, passed in 2024 with bipartisan congressional support and signed by President Biden, to postpone the enforcement of the law. But he continues acting as if he does have the power to forestall an effective nationwide U.S. ban on the popular app while the White House tries to figure out a new American-controlled ownership structure for TikTok.

Trump on Friday said negotiations were in progress with China, which has the authority to block any sale of TikTok by ByteDance. The U.S. government’s TikTok divest-or-ban law bars the app from operating in the U.S. if it continues to use the content-recommendation algorithm controlled by ByteDance — while the Chinese government has opposed a TikTok sale that includes the algorithm. A 75-day extension from Friday would make the new deadline June 18.

Trump said on Truth Social, “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.!). 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Potential investors in TikTok could include Oracle and Blackrock, which have been reported to be in deal talks. Oracle is seen as logical partner, as the company has an existing agreement to host TikTok’s U.S. user data. Others that have expressed interest in bidding for TikTok include Amazon, former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and the founder of OnlyFans.

Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, ByteDance is required to sell a controlling interest in TikTok to non-Chinese owners or be outlawed. In January, TikTok lost an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the divest-or-ban law on First Amendment grounds. It briefly shut down in the U.S. on Jan. 18 but came back online citing Trump’s pledge to not enforce the ban while he sought to find a solution. Apple and Google pulled TikTok from their U.S. app stores amid legal uncertainty over Trump’s executive order delaying enforcement of the TikTok-targeted law, but restored TikTok after assurances from the White House they would not be held criminally liable for doing so.

ByteDance has said 60% of its ownership is represented by “global institutional investors” including Blackrock, General Atlantic and Susquehanna, with 20% owned by its Chinese founders and 20% by employees including those in the U.S.