Will Donald Trump Again Push Deadline on TikTok Sale or Divestment? Here’s What We Know

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to extend the September 17 deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to divest its US operations or face a shutdown, news agency Reuters reported Sunday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Should that happen, the extension would mark the fourth time President Donald Trump will have pushed back enforcement of the law requiring ByteDance to sell or close the wildly popular short-video app.

The legislation originally gave ByteDance until January 2025 to divest, but Trump”s repeated extensions, analysts say, reflect a reluctance to completely shut down TikTok, which reportedly boasts an estimated 170 million users in the US.

Trump’s Support for TikTok Despite Concerns

While many in Washington have expressed concerns about TikTok being used as a tool for Beijing to spy on or influence Americans, Trump, for his part, has indicated that he wants to keep the app alive. Last month, he told reporters he had lined up American buyers and might extend the deadline further.

TikTok has been a popular platform, especially among young voters, and reportedly even helped Trump appeal to this demographic during his 2024 US presidential campaign efforts.

Complications in the TikTok Deal

Any arrangement toward a TikTok divestment deal would require Beijing’s approval for the US buyer to access TikTok’s prized algorithm. 

According to the report, a plan was underway in spring to spin off TikTok’s American operations into a US-based company with majority American ownership, but it stalled after China indicated that it would block the deal, especially following Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trade talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Chinese officials started on Sunday in Spain and are expected to touch on TikTok. However, the unnamed official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that no deal is expected before the September 17 deadline.

Political Cover and Congressional Frustration

Reports suggest that TikTok was not discussed in earlier rounds of US-China trade talks in Geneva, London or Stockholm. Its public mention as a topic in the latest talks “provides the Trump administration with political cover for yet another deadline extension,” the official further told the news agency. 

The likely extension could further frustrate both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who have been pushing for TikTok’s sale.

Trump began his second presidential term on January 20 and has repeatedly extended the deadline – from early April to June, and then to September – without enforcing the sale or shutdown.

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