After months of speculation, TikTok users in the U.S. are once again facing uncertainty. President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, has extended the app’s sale-or-ban deadline for another 90 days, marking the third such delay. The decision adds a new chapter to the long-running debate over TikTok’s ownership.

Trump is extending the sale or ban deadline of TikTok for another 90 days, according to the White House. It’s the third time he is pushing the deadline since taking office in January. The popular app was set to be banned in the U.S. after a vote by Congress and confirmation by the Supreme Court.

TikTok will be operational for another three months in the US

“President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, according to BBC.

The extensions would “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,” she added.

Prior to the announcement, Trump said he would most likely extend the deadline again for a potential TikTok ban.

“We’ll probably have to get China approval,” he told BBC. “I think we’ll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

He also said he has the legal ability to make the decision.

This marks the third extension since Congress and the Supreme Court voted to ban TikTok

Congress passed a measure indicating TikTok had to be sold to a US buyer or be banned by January. Former President Joe Biden signed the bill into law and the Supreme Court voted to uphold the law prior to Trump’s inauguration as president. The motivation behind the law was that the social media app may be used by China for spying and political manipulation.

Trump was praised by TikTok for reinstating the app in the U.S. after it briefly went dark. In 2020, he tried to force a sale of the app and mentioned similar concerns regarding China’s involvement in the American market. 

After he was inaugurated for his second term, Trump went back on his opposition to TikTok and said the social media platform had helped him gain votes in November 2024.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points,” he said after being elected, per BBC. A deal to sell TikTok to a US buyer has yet to be brought forward. 

“There are key matters to be resolved,” a spokesperson for ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, said in April. “Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”