Trump Extends TikTok US Sale Deadline to Mid-June

President Donald Trump has granted ByteDance an additional 75-day extension to divest TikTok's US operations, pushing the deadline to mid-June. This marks the second delay in enforcing the divestiture order originally tied to national security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned social media platform.

“The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed. My administration has been working very hard on a deal to save TikTok, and we have made tremendous progress,” said President Trump.

The divestiture mandate stems from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden in April 2024. The law requires TikTok to separate from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or face removal from US app stores and hosting services. The app, with an estimated 170 million US users, was briefly removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play in January before returning in February following Trump’s initial executive order.

“An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved,” stated ByteDance, adding that any final deal would also require approval under Chinese law, according to a company spokesperson.

Multiple parties have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok’s US business. These include Oracle, AppLovin, and Amazon, which submitted a last-minute bid earlier this week, according to CNBC. Other potential buyers include a consortium of private equity and venture capital firms, such as Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone, with participation from existing shareholders like General Atlantic, Susquehanna, KKR, and Coatue.

According to the Financial Times, one proposed structure would see this investor group control roughly 50% of a new US-based TikTok entity, with existing investors holding about 30%.

Another contender is the Project Liberty consortium led by Frank McCourt, with backing from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. In addition, AI startup Perplexity has reportedly submitted a proposal that involves merging with TikTok’s US operations.

Despite the rising interest and reported progress in negotiations, any transaction still requires approval from the Chinese government.

“We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs. This proves that tariffs are the most powerful economic tool and very important to our national security,” said Trump, linking the TikTok negotiations to broader US-China trade tensions.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a new reciprocal tariff policy, imposing a 34% tariff on Chinese imports. Combined with a pre-existing 20% duty, the effective rate now totals 54%. He has suggested that these tariffs could be reconsidered to facilitate a TikTok deal.

“We will have a form of a deal. TikTok is very popular, very successful, and very good. But if it is not finished, it is not a big deal. We will just extend it. I have the right to have the deal and to extend it, if I want,” Trump concluded.