Donald Trump Extends TikTok Deadline by 75 Days Until April 5
President Donald Trump has granted TikTok a 75-day relief, delaying the potential ban on the popular social media app moments before the deadline of April 5, 2025.
The relief extends to the Chinese parent company of the app, ByteDance, allowing additional time to find a solution for national security concerns and potentially offloading its US operations.
The extension is seeking permission to enable additional discussions between ByteDance, prospective purchasers, and U.S. regulators, with the future of the app in the United States at stake. With about 170 million users in the United States, TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon, but U.S. regulators have raised concerns regarding its data privacy measures and possible Chinese government control, as ByteDance’s controlling shareholder is the Beijing-based company.
The new deadline is a critical moment in the never-ending drama over TikTok’s U.S. business. As part of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), enacted in April of 2024, TikTok was required to divest its U.S. operations by January 19, 2025.
But today’s White House announcement of this new extension gives the company and prospective buyers more time in which to negotiate and address the national security issues.
This is not the first extension TikTok has received. In January 2025, the Trump administration had granted another 75-day extension, stating that it required time to further review the issue before a final decision was made.
Meanwhile, the negotiations have also caught the interest of various American tech behemoths such as Oracle, Amazon, and other individual investors, who each desired to acquire a portion of the app’s U.S. business.
Trump has signaled that a joint venture model, where U.S. interests have a significant interest, could be the solution to national security concerns.
“We’ve made tremendous progress on this issue, and everyone knows that TikTok is part of the American digital ecosystem,” Trump stated at a press conference earlier today. “But it’s extremely important that we keep American citizens’ data out of foreign hands.”.
ByteDance, seeing mounting pressure from the U.S. government and lawmakers, has not yet committed to any agreement that would meet the requirements of the national security officials. The firm has also expressed opposition to forced divestment of its U.S. operations on the basis that this would destabilize its business model and global image.
Despite the hiccups, the negotiations remain ongoing, with ByteDance exploring a range of potential acquirers, while US lawmakers continue to press for stronger safeguards for American data. The 75-day reprieve provides some short-term comfort but serves only to underscore growing pressure to seal a deal before the new timeline expires in mid-June 2025.
For TikTok, the stakes are high. The app has been a favorite platform for creators, brands, and influencers, and millions of American users rely on it for entertainment, news, and education. If the deadline passes without resolution, the app will be compelled to either shut shop in the U.S. or face draconian restrictions.
