Trump Again Gives ByteDance More Time to Follow TikTok Divestiture Law
The Trump administration is extending for the second time the deadline China’s ByteDance faces to comply with a 2024 law that requires the company to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the social media application, President Donald Trump announced April 4.
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The law originally called for ByteDance to sell TikTok by Jan. 19, but Trump directed DOJ Jan. 20 to hold off for 75 days, or until April 5, on enforcing the requirement (see 2501210051). Now Trump is giving TikTok an additional 75 days to comply with the law.
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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. … We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’ We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.”
TikTok has said the Chinese government wouldn't permit ByteDance to divest the app. But several U.S. lawmakers have said they would oppose a deal that leaves ByteDance in control of TikTok (see 2504020069).
In a joint statement April 4, House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and 11 other committee Republicans said they “look forward to working with the administration on addressing the national security concerns surrounding TikTok’s ownership. Any resolution must ensure that U.S. law is followed, and that the Chinese Communist Party does not have access to American user data or the ability to manipulate the content consumed by Americans.”