President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he may grant TikTok a 90-day extension to comply with the conditions of a bipartisan law passed in 2024.
What Donald Trump said about the US TikTok ban
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Saturday, Trump suggested a temporary reprieve from the looming nationwide ban on TikTok, which is set to take effect Sunday, 19 January 2025.
“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation,” Trump said.
He added that a formal decision would likely be announced on Monday, after his inauguration.
However, with the ban scheduled to begin on Sunday, there is a chance the app could go dark for at least a day before any extension is granted.
TikTok’s statement on the ban
TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been under scrutiny by US lawmakers over national security concerns.
Officials have alleged the platform could provide American user data to the Chinese government under Beijing’s intelligence laws. ByteDance has repeatedly denied the allegations and has refused to sell the app to a non-Chinese buyer, as demanded by the US.
On Saturday, TikTok released a statement addressing the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to uphold the ban and the Biden administration’s lack of action to provide clarity to service providers.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately, TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the company said.
The platform has 170 million US users, many of whom are now uncertain about TikTok’s future in the country.