US extends TikTok sale deadline to December

The United States (US) has extended the deadline to sell TikTok’s American operations to December 16.

The government had previously set an April deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest its American business.

On September 16, Donald Trump, the US president, told reporters at the White House that “a group of very big companies” had reached a deal to buy TikTok, though he gave no further details.

Hours later, the White House confirmed the extension in a statement.

“The enforcement delay specified in section 2(a) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025 (Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok), as extended by Executive Order 14258 of April 4, 2025 (Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay), and Executive Order 14310 of June 19, 2025 (Further Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay), is further extended until December 16, 2025,” the US government said.

“During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the “Act”) (Public Law 118-50, Div. H) or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating of) any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act.”

According to Reuters, the framework under discussion would see a consortium of US investors, led by Oracle and Silver Lake, take control of up to 80 percent of TikTok’s American arm.

ByteDance is expected to retain a 19.9 percent stake, just below the 20 percent threshold.

The Joe Biden administration had insisted that TikTok’s US operations must be majority-owned by non-Chinese entities to address national security concerns.

The extension gives ByteDance 90 more days to conclude the transaction, which has already attracted interest from high-profile investors, including Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube content creator better known as MrBeast, Frank McCourt, a billionaire, and Blackstone, a US investment firm.