TikTok has been given a 75-day extension by US President Donald Trump to comply with legislation requiring the widely popular video app to sell its US business or risk being banned in the country.
“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal.
The Chinese company ByteDance currently owns the platform. It had been in talks with the Trump administration, but “an agreement has not been executed,” according to a statement issued by ByteDance.
“There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” a representative stated.
Last year, a law was approved by Congress mandating TikTok to sell or divest its US holdings. The law was prompted by worries that ByteDance, the Chinese company that owned the app, may exploit the social media site to influence Americans.
The initial deadline for banning or forcing the app’s sale was January 19. However, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to postpone that decision until April 5. The revised deadline is now set for mid-June.
The latest extension comes as the Trump administration attempts to negotiate a deal to keep the well-known app available in the US and transfer ownership of the social media platform to Americans.
Trump said, “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” in Friday’s post on his Truth social platform.
TikTok is a social networking app that has 170 million users in the United States. Owning the app and its secretive algorithm appeals greatly to investors and corporations.
According to ByteDance’s prior court filings, a divestment “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.” The company has stated that it has no ambitions to sell TikTok.
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