Trump says he ‘most likely’ will give TikTok a 90-day extension

A TikTok app is shown on a phone in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. —AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

WASHINGTON, DC — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he “most likely” would give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a US ban.

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.

READ: Biden won’t enforce US TikTok ban – official

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.

READ: What will happen to TikTok on Apple, Google app stores on Jan 19?

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“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate,” Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview. “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,” he said. —AP