It appears that the Trump administration is quite keen on allowing TikTok to continue its operations in the U.S. The platform was briefly banned in the U.S. on January 19 for 14 hours. But as soon as Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th President of the U.S. on January 20, he signed an executive order to give a reprieve of 75 days to TikTok.
During this period, TikTok had to separate itself from its Chinese parent, ByteDance, and find a U.S. buyer. Several U.S. companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, Perplexity AI, and Amazon, reportedly showed interest in buying the U.S. assets of TikTok. While President Trump hinted that a deal could soon come through, nothing materialised.
As the 75-day deadline was about to expire on April 5, Trump signed another executive order on April 4, granting TikTok another 75-day extension. Now, with the second deadline nearing its end on June 19, it seems like President Trump is still unwilling to let TikTok shut down in the U.S.
According to Reuters, U.S. President Trump has said that he would likely offer another extension to ByteDance-owned short video platform TikTok to divest its U.S. assets. Answering reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday, when asked about extending the deadline, Trump said;
Probably, yeah. Probably have to get China's approval, but I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.
If announced, it will be for the third time, TikTok gets a lifeline to continue its operations in the U.S. While there is no clarity on how many extensions the company might receive, it's evident that President Trump wants TikTok to find a solution for its U.S. assets.
Interestingly, he wanted to ban TikTok during his first Presidential term. However, things changed as Meta banned him from its platforms after the January 6, 2024, Capitol Attack. Trump then joined TikTok and appreciated the platform to help him reach a young audience.
For now, TikTok's fate still hangs in the balance. Let us know in the comments below what you think about this development.
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