Trump says he will ‘most likely’ grant TikTok 90-day extension to avoid ban

President-elect Donald Trump told Kristen Welker, moderator of NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” in a phone interview Saturday that he would “most likely” grant TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a possible ban on United States after taking office on Monday.

Trump said he had not made a final decision but was considering a 90-day extension of Sunday. deadline for TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell to a non-Chinese buyer or face a U.S. ban.

“I think that would definitely be an option that we look at. The 90 day extension will most likely be granted as it is appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We need to examine it carefully. It’s a very serious situation,” Trump said in the phone interview.

“If I decide to do it, I will probably announce it on Monday,” he said.

A 90-day extension under certain conditions is explicitly allowed in the bipartisan law passed last year. But a Monday extension might not be enough to keep the app from going dark for at least a day, because the current compliance deadline is Sunday.

The fate of TikTok is one of the topics occupying the final days of the Biden administration, and many of the app’s millions of U.S. users are eagerly awaiting a solution.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it has no plans to enforce the law, placing that responsibility on Trump, but TikTok said Friday that the White House’s assurances may not be enough to prevent the closing the application. TikTok said it plans to “go dark” on Sunday unless it receives more “clarity and assurance” on potential legal consequences, including against third-party service providers.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s plans a “stunt” in a statement Saturday morning.

“We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. This is a set-up, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” he said. she declared.

“We have made our position clear and direct: action to implement this law will be up to the next administration. TikTok and other companies should therefore raise their concerns,” she said.

President Joe Biden signed the law last April. That forces the app’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell it to a non-Chinese buyer or face a nationwide ban in the United States, but in recent days its collaborators have sought ways to keep TikTok available when this law takes effect. Sunday effect.

Under the law, the president can grant a one-time 90-day extension if he certifies to Congress that three things are true: there is a path to divestiture, there is “significant progress” toward its completion, and ” appropriate measures are in place.” binding legal agreements to permit the execution of such qualified assignment during the period of such extension.

No such binding legal agreement has been made public. If a last-minute buyer came along, it would likely need to spend tens of billions of dollars on TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Trump did not say whether he was aware of recent progress toward a sale.

Trump’s support for TikTok represents a stark reversal from his stance during his first term, when Trump signed executive orders banning not only TikTok but also the Chinese messaging app WeChat. Trump’s attempt at the time was blocked by the courts. His reversal came after he briefly met one of the app’s billionaire US investors last year.

Lawmakers who have supported a sale or ban say action is necessary because of ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government, which they say should not have control of a major media property that could be used to propaganda purposes. They also cite the app’s collection of personal data from US citizens.

TikTok fans have protested a possible sale or ban, including downloading other Chinese apps such as RedNote, despite potential security concerns regarding those apps as well.

The Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, rejecting the app’s free speech arguments in an unsigned opinion without dissent.

Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump asked the court to suspend enforcement of the law, asking for some time for his administration to work on finding alternatives to banning the app.

Following Friday’s ruling, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The Supreme Court’s decision was expected and everyone should respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need to have time to take stock of the situation. Stay tuned!”

In the past, he has expressed support for the app remaining available to users in the United States, citing the high number of views his TikTok accounts receive.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday, along with other tech executives.

TikTok’s future remained unclear on Friday, with Chew thanking Trump for his efforts to keep the app running in the United States.

Even before the Supreme Court’s ruling, Biden administration officials signaled they would not enforce the law on Sunday, Biden’s final day in office.

“Given the timing, this administration recognizes that actions to implement the law must simply fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” the White House’s Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the decision.

“The statements released today by the Biden White House and the Department of Justice failed to provide the clarity and assurance needed by service providers who are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability for more 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a post on X.

“Unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers ensuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the statement added.