Trump gives TikTok extra 75 days to find buyer

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday extended the deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States, allowing 75 more days to find a solution. "My Administration has been working very hard on a deal to save TikTok, and we have made tremendous progress," Trump said on Truth Social, just hours before the deadline was to expire. "A transaction 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."

The hugely popular video-sharing app, which has more than 170 million American users, is under threat from a US law passed last year that orders TikTok to split from its Chinese owner ByteDance or get shut down in the United States. Trump has insisted his administration is near a deal to find a buyer for TikTok and keep it from shutting down that would involve multiple investors, but has given few details.

ByteDance, while confirming that



it was in talks with the US government towards finding a solution, warned that there remained "key matters" to solve. "An agreement has not been executed" and whatever was decided would be "subject to approval under Chinese law," the company added. Motivated by national security fears and belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump's inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor.

TikTok temporarily shut down in the United States and disappeared from app stores, to the dismay of millions of users. But the Republican president quickly announced an initial 75-day delay and TikTok was restored to users, returning to the Apple and Google app stores in February. The new 75-day delay pushes the deadline to June 19. Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app's US business.