By Angela Palumbo
President Donald Trump said on the Truth Social app that he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days.
Tump said in a post that his administration has been working "very hard on a deal to SAVE TIKTOK," and has made "tremendous progress." However, he said the deal needs more work to ensure all of the approvals are signed, leading him to sign the executive order.
This comes just one day before Trump's previous 75-day extension for TikTok ran out. Barron's has reached out to TikTok for comment.
Trump also said in his Truth Social post that he hopes to continue working in good faith with China on coming to a deal to sell TikTok's U.S. operations, even as the country is "not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs."
Trump announced hefty tariffs against China on Wednesday night, and China has since matched those levies with its own 34% tariff on U.S. imports, effective April 10. But to come to an agreement on TikTok, China, the Trump administration, and whatever company is looking to buy, all have to be on board.
The possibility of a TikTok sale is a big deal for the social-media platform, which is used by about 170 million Americans. Former President Joe Biden signed a law last year that would ban the app in the U.S. unless it is sold to an owner that isn't controlled by a foreign adversary. Lawmakers believe the Chinese owned platform collects harmful user data, which TikTok denies.
The law states that if a qualified divestiture is in the works, the ban could be delayed while details are worked out. And while Trump has delayed the shut down of the app again as "the deal requires more work," his post on Friday didn't elaborate further on what the deal could be. Barron's has reached out to the White House for clarity.
There has been quite a bit of chatter about different U.S. companies and investors interested in buying TikTok. A person familiar with the matter confirmed to Barron's on Wednesday that Amazon.com put in a bid to buy the app, and also said the Trump administration is finalizing plans for potential investors that could include Blackstone and Oracle, as well as a list of other investors that will likely involve blue-chip private-equity firms, venture-capital firms, and major investors in the tech industry.
AppLovin said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday that it indicated to the president it is interested in exploring a TikTok purchase.
Business attorney Camron Dowlatshahi of MSD Lawyers told Barron's on Thursday that he's unsure if a serious deal is actually in the works.
"For a real deal to be on this table, there has to be an immense amount of due diligence done on each side," Dowlatshahi said.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2025 14:33 ET (18:33 GMT)
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