- President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law banning TikTok for another 75 days, allowing more time to finalize a deal that will enable the app to continue operating in the U.S. His administration is working on securing the necessary approvals for the deal.
- The delay follows a similar move from when Trump delayed the enforcement of the law in January.
- The extension came amid escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, with both sides increasing tariffs.
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TikTok will continue for at least another 75 days. For the second time in 2025, President Donald Trump delayed enforcing a law that would ban the social media app while his staff continues to work on a deal to maintain access in the United States.
Trump announced the extension Friday, April 4, in a post to Truth Social ahead of the Saturday, April 5, deadline.
“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,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
When did the first delay happen?
Last year, former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance‘s China-based parent company to sell the app or face a U.S. ban.
Lawmakers set the law to take effect in January, but Trump delayed it by signing an executive order.
The day before, Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores over a fear of facing fines, while the app temporarily shut down for users.
Trump told the attorney general not to enforce any penalties on app store owners, despite federal legislation stating companies could be fined $5,000 per user they help access TikTok.
TikTok returned to Apple and Google app stores in February.
What’s the latest with the US and China’s trade war?
Friday’s announcement also happened as the U.S. and China are in the middle of an escalating trade war, with both sides increasing tariffs.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said he hopes to work with China on a TikTok deal despite recent trade tariffs both countries enacted.
“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.!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”
In a news conference on Wednesday, April 2, Trump said he may reduce tariffs on China to facilitate a deal that would result in ByteDance selling the U.S. operations of TikTok.
What led to another extension?
On Wednesday, President Trump hosted meetings with top White House officials to discuss the next steps for TikTok.
Multiple high-profile companies entered the race to acquire the app, submitting last-minute bids.
The New York Times reported Amazon submitted a bid for the app Wednesday, while cryptocurrency foundation Hbar and Zoop, a startup co-led by the founder of OnlyFans, jointly submitted a plan to the White House.
Another confirmed bidder is Perplexity, an AI search startup.
The company recently posted its “vision” online for what its version of TikTok would be like for America.
There’s no word on whether any of the bidders are in the lead to acquire the app.
