(NewsNation) — TikTok is facing another deadline to divest the popular app’s U.S. assets and sell them to an American company, with a possible third extension being floated by President Donald Trump.
Parent company ByteDance has until June 19 to spin off U.S. assets from the platform, which is used by 170 million Americans, including creators and small business owners who rely on the app to make a living.
The demand for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban was a rare bipartisan issue for Congress. Lawmakers fear the app will allow China to surveil Americans who share short-form videos on the app or push propaganda, while users defend the breadth of available videos and the opportunities for entrepreneurs.
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As he took office, Trump reversed his previous position in support of the ban. Although TikTok is based in Singapore, Trump had previously supported a ban, calling the app a national security threat.
Testifying before Congress, CEO Shou Chew also emphasized that TikTok is a Singapore-based company, despite ByteDance being Chinese.
The app briefly went dark in January as it faced the initial deadline, with U.S. users given an error message when they attempted to view videos.
A plan was reportedly in the works to sell TikTok’s American operations to a new firm, but it was put on hold because China would not approve it following Trump’s announcement of steep tariffs.
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Trump recently said he would be open to extending the deadline for a third time, giving China yet another chance to sell. However, it’s unclear how much authority he has to do so.
Under the law that banned TikTok, the president can implement a 90-day extension. Instead of doing that in January or April, Trump instead used executive orders to delay the ban for 75 days. It’s not clear which route he might take in June if he decides to delay the ban again.
Should Congress become fed up with the delays, it’s also possible that lawmakers could pass legislation forcing the ban to take place regardless of the president’s wishes.
If the ban goes through, it’s not entirely clear what that would mean for users. It’s possible the app would simply be removed from app stores, with new users unable to download it and existing users eventually becoming unable to use the app after being unable to download updates.
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It’s also possible that U.S. hosting sites would once again block access to TikTok, though users could potentially circumvent such actions by using a VPN.
In January, when the app went dark, users did not flock back to American social media apps like Facebook and Instagram as lawmakers might have hoped. Instead, many joined Rednote, an app that is owned directly by China.
NewsNation reached out to TikTok for comment but has not received a response.
