Washington, September 17 (HS): President Donald Trump formally extended the deadline for the popular social media app TikTok to remain operational in the United States until December 16, allowing more time for finalizing a framework deal aimed at transferring TikTok’s US operations to American ownership.

The executive order, signed Tuesday, marks the fourth extension circumventing the original January 19 deadline set by Congress for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its US assets or face a ban. The extension follows high-level negotiations between US and Chinese officials, culminating recently in Madrid with agreed “basic framework consensus” to resolve the standoff.

Trump expressed optimism about the deal’s potential and said he would discuss TikTok further with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Despite growing security concerns prompting congressional action, Trump acknowledged TikTok’s value, crediting the platform for bolstering his appeal among younger voters ahead of the 2024 election.

Meanwhile, experts caution that TikTok’s novelty is fading as competitors replicate its features, and any future US buyer will essentially acquire market share rather than groundbreaking technology, highlighting the complex challenge of regulating rapidly evolving digital platforms in a geopolitical context.

This extension defers an impending ban and buys crucial time for the US government and ByteDance to implement a transition that addresses national security concerns while preserving access to a widely popular app.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar