Trump to extend US TikTok ban deadline, White House says

TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the BBC.

The popular video sharing app was supposed to be banned in the US after its Chinese owner, ByteDance, refused to sell it to a US buyer by a January deadline.

"President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

TikTok will live on for at least another three months in the United States, as President Donald Trump is poised to extend a sale or ban deadline for the third time since taking office this year.

Leavitt said the 90-day extension would "ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure."

Before Leavitt's announcement, Trump told the BBC that he would "probably" extend the TikTok.

"We'll probably have to get China approval," Trump said. "I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it."

When asked if he has the legal basis to extend the deadline, he responded: "We do."

Trump's extension is at odds with the will of Congress, which passed the sale-or-ban measure last year. His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, immediately signed the bill into law.

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