Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline by Ninety Days

Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline by Ninety Days

President Trump has once again extended the deadline for the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations by ninety days. The Chinese parent company of the app, ByteDance, initially had until Thursday to complete the sale. A spokesperson for the White House confirmed that the U.S. president will sign an executive order this week to "keep TikTok operational."

Chinese Government Influence

The Biden administration had previously banned the platform last year, citing national security concerns due to TikTok's ownership by ByteDance. The former administration alleged that the Chinese government could use the app to collect data on Americans and influence them, though concrete evidence remains scarce. This issue is part of the broader geopolitical and economic tensions between Washington and Beijing.

App's Temporary Blackout

Earlier this year, just before Trump's inauguration, TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S. Following his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order to restore the app's availability. While the app remains technically banned under U.S. law, Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcing the ban.

Global and European Concerns

TikTok, a popular app for sharing short videos, boasts 1.4 billion users worldwide, including over 120 million in the U.S. and 4 million in the Netherlands. Privacy concerns, especially regarding data storage and child safety, have plagued the app. In May, TikTok was fined €485 million for violating European privacy laws, with an additional €45 million penalty for failing to disclose data transfer risks to China.