Trump Granted TikTok A 75-Day Reprieve From The US Ban

The social media space experienced a rollercoaster ride over the weekend. TikTok took its services offline before US President Donald Trump restored it. However, TikTok isn’t completely out of the woods yet. Trump has given the TikTok ban a 75-day extension, during which it will be reviewed to see if there are any national security concerns.

75-day extension

For those who are fans of TikTok or who have built a following on the social media platform, you’ll be pleased to learn that the app will continue to operate for the next two and a half months. This is thanks to an executive order signed by Trump. This executive order effectively gives TikTok a 75-day extension over the enforcement of a law that would have forced the company to sell itself, or a majority stake, to a US-based company.

According to the executive order, this extension gives the government additional time to review the company and its services, as well as to determine the best course of action. It also allows the government to check for any potential national security concerns.

TikTok will also not be penalized for continuing to operate during the 75-day extension.

Not quite over

One of the main concerns about TikTok isn’t about the moral decay it’s bringing to today’s youth. But rather who owns the company. ByteDance owns TikTok. ByteDance is a company based in China. Given the US government’s relationship with China and its current stance, some concerns exist.

These include privacy and national security concerns. It covers the potential for China-based companies operating in the US to collect data on US citizens and send it back to the Chinese government. To address these concerns, President Joe Biden signed a law in 2024. This law mandated that ByteDance sell off the majority of its stake in TikTok to an American-owned company. Failing to do so would result in ByteDance no longer being able to distribute, maintain, or update TikTok.

It’s not a ban per se, but the restrictions would hobble TikTok’s ability to operate effectively in the US. Following his 75-day extension for TikTok, Trump echoed similar sentiments, saying that a US-based company should buy 50% of TikTok.

The Chinese government has responded to Trump’s plan. Unsurprisingly, they’re not too thrilled by the proposal. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this should be “decided independently by companies based on market principles.”