US President Donald Trump on Tuesday prolonged the deadline for TikTok's US closure for the fourth time during his second term, just before a discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the future of the Chinese-owned short video application.
On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order establishing the new deadline as December 16.
The decision was made one day following the US and China's discussions in Madrid, where both parties established a "framework" for addressing matters concerning the application, as stated by senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang.
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Trump, on Truth Social on Monday, mentioned that a "deal" had been made regarding a "certain" company that young people in the country greatly wished to preserve. Later that day, he stated he would check with Xi on Friday to see if there would still be a Chinese ownership interest in the app.
The United States Congress in the previous yearapprovedA nationwide restriction on TikTok, unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells its majority ownership by January 19. However, the US president has postponed the sale-or-ban deadline through executive orders on three occasions, with the latest extension set for September 17.
Trump announced his first extension on January 20, the day he began his presidency, following a short period of uncertainty.went darkamidst the US Supreme Court's ruling toupholdthe law to sell or ban just a few days prior.
The second instance occurred in April, when White House officials thought they were near an agreement to separate TikTok into a new company owned by the US. However, this plan collapsed after Beijingreportedlywithdrew after Trump's move to increase tariffs on Chinese goods.
Certain technologies utilized by TikTok, such as its recommendation algorithm, are subject to Beijing's authorization under Chinese export regulations. This restriction was introduced by Beijing in 2020,ending a deal that was being discussedrelated to ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart during the initial Trump presidency.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, during an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday, mentioned that a "framework" had been established with Chinese officials following Trump's statement that he would have been open to allowing TikTok to shut down.
The legislation that permitted a single 90-day extension of the initial shutdown date, if "substantial" progress on a sale was demonstrated, was enacted under former President Joe Biden. However, the administration has not encountered any legal disputes regarding Trump's multiple extensions of the deadline.
The legislation requiring the sale, enacted last yearas part of a cross-party international assistance package, expresses worry in Washington that TikTok's ownership means it is loyal to the Chinese government and that Beijing might utilize the app to monitor Americans or carry out influence campaigns.
Members of both the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress responded to the news about the possible agreement, issuing cautions that any deal must adhere to legal standards and effectively limit Chinese influence over TikTok.
It remains uncertain what this so-called 'framework deal' involves, but regardless of its nature, it needs to comply with the law, which this administration has been disregarding for several months," stated Democrats from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on social media on Tuesday. "No agreement should permit the Chinese government to dictate what Americans can view on TikTok.
A social media post from Republicans on the House Select Committee regarding the Chinese Communist Party urged an outright severance from ByteDance:
"A TikTok agreement should ban any algorithms or operational connections with ByteDance," it stated.
In the meantime, backing for a prohibition on the application utilized by 170 million Americans has declined. As per a survey carried out towards the end of February and beginning of March by the Pew Research Center, support for banning TikTok stood at 34 per cent among American adults, a decrease from 50 per cent in 2023.
Last month, the presidential residencedebutedThe second Trump administration's initial TikTok account. Both Trump and Biden established accounts during the 2024 presidential campaign, even though both had previously expressed worries about the app's security.
TikTok, together with other critics, has claimed that a ban would illegally limit Americans' ability to access foreign media, which contradicts the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Some American legislators have alsopointeddue to the absence of proof that Beijing has influenced the platform's content.
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