Donald Trump extends US TikTok sale deadline for third time
What's the story
President Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline for TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The new deadline is now set for mid-September.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday, adding that Trump will sign an executive order later this week to formalize the extension.
Assurance
'Trump administration will close the deal by September'
Leavitt further emphasized the administration's commitment to finalize a deal within this extended period.
She said the Trump administration will spend the next 90 days "working to 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."
Protection
Legal protection for TikTok's US service providers
The extension, first signed on January 20, theoretically gives legal protection to TikTok's US service providers.
These include Oracle and Apple, who are facing potential penalties under the 'Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act' for continuing to operate the app and keep it in US app stores.
However, this legal cover has been questioned as Trump's extensions aren't codified into law.
Negotiations
Deal with Oracle disrupted by Trump's tariffs
In April, ByteDance and an Oracle-led coalition were close to finalizing a deal. However, the agreement was disrupted by Trump's tariffs.
Despite the easing of trade tensions between the US and China, there has been no recent update on reviving that deal or negotiating a new one.
Even if a sale was possible, it remained uncertain if China would permit ByteDance to sell its highly sought-after algorithm that powers TikTok's video recommendations.
Opposition
Lawmakers call extensions 'illegal'
Several lawmakers have criticized Trump's repeated extensions as untenable and illegal.
After the last extension in April, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) called the move "against the law."
He also said "the whole thing is a sham if the algorithm doesn't move from out of Beijing's hands."
Risks
Senators express concerns in letter to Trump
Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) have also written to Trump expressing their concerns.
They warned that further extensions would force Oracle, Apple, Google, and other companies to continue risking heavy legal liability.
This is because TikTok service providers in the US can be fined for enabling access to the app after the ban deadline.