Trump and TikTok saga: US president Donald Trump to approve TikTok deal in line with 2024 law
US President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order approving a TikTok U.S. divestiture deal, extending the deadline for compliance with the 2024 law restricting Chinese ownership.
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US President Donald J. Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday declaring that a deal under negotiation to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations meets the requirements of a law passed last year restricting Chinese ownership of the video-sharing app, according to a White House official with knowledge of the matter.
The order would extend the administration’s deadline for enforcing the 2024 statute, which bans TikTok in the United States unless its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, relinquishes control. Trump had already postponed the law’s implementation until mid-December as the White House worked to separate TikTok’s American business from its global platform, line up domestic investors and structure a transaction that qualifies as a full divestiture.
TikTok, which counts 170 million U.S. users, has become both a political flash point and a communications tool for Trump, who has credited the app with helping him secure re-election last year. He has more than 15 million followers on his personal account, and the White House recently launched its own official presence on the platform.
The executive order is expected to provide further leeway for negotiations as the administration seeks to finalize terms that satisfy the law’s divestment mandate.
Background: TikTok and the Trump Administration
The saga of TikTok's operations in the United States has been marked by a series of legal and political developments initiated by the Trump administration. In 2024, Congress passed a law mandating that ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, divest its U.S. operations by January 2025 due to national security concerns. The law stipulated that failure to comply would result in a ban of the app in the United States.
Despite the looming deadline, President Donald Trump extended the enforcement of the law multiple times, citing ongoing negotiations and the need for a resolution that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. In September 2025, Trump announced an agreement between the U.S. and China to transfer TikTok's U.S. assets to American ownership, with ByteDance retaining a minority stake of less than 20%. The deal involved U.S. investors such as Oracle, Silver Lake, and business leaders like Lachlan Murdoch, Larry Ellison, and Michael Dell.
The agreement also included provisions to ensure that TikTok's algorithm would be secured and operated within the United States, outside of ByteDance's control. While the deal was seen as a breakthrough in U.S.-China relations, it faced scrutiny from some lawmakers who questioned whether the arrangement fully complied with the 2024 law's requirements.
As of September 2025, the Trump administration continued to navigate the complex legal and diplomatic landscape surrounding TikTok's U.S. operations, with ongoing discussions about the finalization and implementation of the divestiture agreement.
