TRUMP EXTENDS TIKTOK BAN BY 90 DAYS

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday extended to September 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of short-video app TikTok despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown without significant progress. Trump signed an executive order pushing back Thursday's deadline for 90 days, a step he had previously signaled.
The Republican president had already twice granted a reprieve from federal enforcement of a law that mandated the sale or shutdown of TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January, absent significant progress toward a sale.
Trump has said he wants to keep the app, which helped him woo young voters in the 2024 presidential election, active in the U.S.
He has also expressed optimism that Chinese President Xi Jinping would approve a deal that preserves the app, though it is unclear how significantly the topic has featured in the two countries' ongoing talks to resolve a tariff dispute.
"We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available," TikTok said in a statement posted on its website.
The company said it is continuing to work with U.S. Vice President JD Vance's office on the matter.
"It's more time; more time to make a good deal," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a briefing on Thursday. She added that White House lawyers and the Department of Justice believed the extension was on strong legal footing.
Leavitt said on Tuesday that, "President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark," and added the administration would spend the next three months making sure the sale closes and protects U.S. consumers' data.