President Trump suggested Friday that he may once again extend the deadline for TikTok’s parent company to divest from the popular video-sharing app or face a U.S. ban.
For months, Trump has sought to strike a deal to keep TikTok available in the U.S., pushing back the deadline three separate times. The latest extension is set to expire Sept. 17.
“We have American buyers,” he told reporters Friday. “And I haven’t spoken to [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] about it. At the right time, when we’re set, I’ll do it. In the meantime, until the complexity of things work out, we just extend a little bit longer.”
The divest-or-ban law, passed last year, sought to force TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app amid growing privacy and national security concerns. If it failed to do so, TikTok would be banned from U.S. networks and app stores.
However, the law has remained in limbo since January. It was set to take effect the day before Trump’s inauguration, but former President Biden declined to enforce it, and Trump quickly signed an extension once in office. He has since punted the deadline twice more.
Trump initially appeared close to a deal in April. However, his reciprocal tariff announcement scuttled the agreement.
He teased a potential deal again in late June and early July, saying he had a buyer for TikTok that consisted of “very, very wealthy people” and suggesting he was poised to begin talks with China. But there have been no developments in the past month.
Earlier this week, the White House joined TikTok and has posted more than a dozen videos. When asked Friday about potential privacy or national security issues, Trump said he wasn’t concerned.
“I’m really not. I think it’s highly overrated,” he told reporters, adding that the administration is “going to watch the security concerns.”
