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President-elect Donald Trump says he will “probably” extend the deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to dismantle the video app, which is set to take effect nationwide on Sunday. Facing ban.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he was considering a 90-day extension of the deadline. His comments came a day later tiktok Its 170 million users face imminent blackouts after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a divest-or-ban law passed by Congress last year to address China-related national security concerns.
“A 90-day extension is something that will probably be done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump said. “We have to look at it carefully. This is a very big situation. . . If I decide to do it, I will probably announce it on Monday.”
Friday, Trump Said he spoke with President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok with the Chinese leader. Chinese state media said the two leaders spoke but did not specify whether TikTok was part of the conversation.
The Biden administration said Friday it would leave decisions on implementing the law, which will take effect Saturday at midnight ET, to the incoming Trump administration.
That means companies that provide video platforms — including Apple, Google and Oracle — must decide whether to risk violating the law between the midnight deadline and Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Apple and Oracle declined to comment, while Google did not immediately respond.
TikTok said the Biden administration’s statement “fails to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to service providers integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to more than 170 million Americans”.
It also warned that the video app would “go dark” on January 19 unless the Biden administration “immediately issues a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring them of the injustice”.
In an overwhelming bipartisan vote last March, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok to avoid a nationwide ban on the app.
Lawmakers and US security officials believe Chinese ownership of the app poses a national security risk because it could be used by the Chinese Communist Party for espionage and disinformation. TikTok has denied that the app has any influence from the Chinese government.
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order to block TikTok from operating in the US, but it was blocked by the courts at the last minute. In early 2024, he came out in opposition to a congressional divest-or-ban measure that would help Facebook, which banned him from its social media platform for two years.
Trump has appointed several China hawks opposed to Chinese ownership of TikTok to his administration, including Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret and congressman from Florida, who will serve as national security adviser.
Earlier this week, Waltz said the incoming administration would “take measures to prevent TikTok from going dark,” saying the law allowed for an extension as long as a “love deal” was on the table.
After the TikTok statement on Friday, Rush Doshi, a former senior China official in the Biden administration, wrote in X that the company only had itself to blame.
“TikTok had 268 days to sell itself so it was not controlled by China. That would have solved everything. But they didn’t even try. China will not allow them,” Doshi said.
“Now, over time, they want Biden to ignore a bipartisan law SCOTUS (U.S. Supreme Court) upheld 9-0. If they stop, it’s on them.”
Additional reporting by Hannah Murphy and Michael Acton
