WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)– President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app’s U.S. operations — granting another 90 days before a potential ban takes effect.
This marks the third such extension since Trump took office, as his administration continues efforts to force a sale to an American buyer. The move follows a law passed by Congress requiring TikTok to divest or face a ban in the United States over national security concerns.
“He signed an order to extend the TikTok deadline another 90 days,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The White House counsel strongly believes in the legal rationale of this executive order.”
President Trump has frequently voiced his support for the popular app, stating, “I love TikTok.” The administration frames the extension as part of a broader effort to strike a deal with China and fulfill a campaign promise to protect the app’s future in the U.S.
However, some legal experts question the administration’s authority.
“It probably is not legal,” said Paul Schiff Berman, a law professor at George Washington University. “This is part of a trend with this president where he chooses to follow the laws he wants to follow, but not others.”
Berman noted the law allows a one-time 90-day extension and said legal challenges would require a party directly harmed by the delay.
“You would need a private party who is harmed, and it’s not clear who is directly harmed by the TikTok extension,” he said.
He added that a competitor such as Meta could theoretically mount a legal case but doubted any major company would risk challenging the president.
“There’s only pressure if Congress starts putting pressure on him,” Berman said.
Sen. Mark Warner, (D-Va.), also criticized the president’s move, accusing Trump of “flouting the law” and disregarding national security findings.
TikTok has consistently denied that the data of its estimated 170 million U.S. users is accessible to the Chinese government. In a statement, the company said it would continue to work with the administration toward a resolution.
President Trump is tying TikTok’s future to broader tariff negotiations with Beijing.
“TikTok is good for China, and I think they’d like to see us do a deal,” he said.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel