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President-elect Donald Trump said he would “very likely” extend the deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to drop the video app which faces a nationwide ban that will take effect on Sunday.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he was considering issuing a 90-day extension of the deadline. His comments come a day after TikTok warned its 170 million users would face an immediate shutdown after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a takedown or ban law that Congress passed last year to address national security concerns related to with China.
“The 90-day extension is something that is very likely to be done because it is appropriate,” Trump said. “We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation. . . If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”
On Friday, Trump said he had spoken with President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok with the Chinese leader. Chinese state media said the two leaders had spoken, 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 takes effect Saturday at midnight Eastern time, to the incoming Trump administration.
That means the companies that provide the video platform — including Apple, Google and Oracle — must decide whether to risk breaking 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 statements from the Biden administration “failed to provide the necessary clarity and certainty to service providers that are integral to maintaining the availability of TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”
It also warned that the video app would be “blacked out” on January 19 unless the Biden administration “immediately issues a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical non-implementation service providers.”
In a landslide bipartisan vote last March, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to spin off TikTok to avoid a nationwide ban on the app.
US lawmakers and security officials believe Chinese ownership of the app poses a national security risk because it could be used for espionage and disinformation by the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok has denied that the Chinese government has any influence over the app.
In 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 opposed Congress’ move to remove or ban him on the grounds that it would help Facebook, which banned him from its social media platform for two years.
Trump has appointed to his administration several China hawks who oppose Chinese ownership of TikTok, 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 put in place “measures to keep TikTok from obscurity,” saying the legislation allowed for an extension as long as a “sustainable deal” was on the table.
After TikTok’s statement on Friday, Rush Doshi, a former senior Biden administration official in China, wrote on X that the company had only itself to blame.
“TikTok had 268 days to sell itself, so it was not operated from China. That would have solved everything. But they didn’t even try. China did not allow them”, said Doshi.
“Now, on short notice, they want Biden to ignore a bipartisan SCOTUS (U.S. Supreme Court) backed 9-0 law. If they close, it’s on them.”
Additional reporting by Hannah Murphy and Michael Acton
