Donald Trump 'looking carefully' at TikTok deal with extension to avoid US ban 'likely'

Donald Trump at a rally
-Credit:Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “most likely” give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a US ban. Mr Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday.

A law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to US users takes effect on Sunday. Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikTok’s China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer.

The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension if a sale is in progress. “I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,” Mr Trump told Meet The Press moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview.

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“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation. If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”

TikTok sign
Although there are not any plans for an outright ban in the UK, many UK users and creators on the app have expressed concern about the impact the loss of the US audience will have on their income and viewers -Credit:Getty Images

UK officials have said that they have "no plans" to outlaw TikTok. A UK Government spokesperson said: “This is a matter for the US government. There are no plans to introduce a TikTok ban in the UK.

“We engage with all major social media companies to understand their plans for ensuring the security of UK data and to ensure they meet the high data protection and cyber security standards we expect.”

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Although there are not any plans for an outright ban in the UK, many UK users and creators on the app have expressed concern about the impact the loss of the US audience will have on their income and viewers. Among them is Tom Pratt, 23, from London, who is worried that TikTok will struggle without the US audience.

Tom, who has 220,000 followers on TikTok, said: "The US as a country is so powerful and big and I don’t think TikTok can keep going if there’s no American users on the app. I think it will sadly change over to another app, which I hate, because I absolutely love TikTok.”

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