Trump postpones TikTok ban in the US for the third time

Donald Trump has signed the third extension of the TikTok blockade - for another 90 days, meaning that the deadline is now pushed back to mid-September 2025.

Context.

TikTok, a short video service, was developed by the Chinese company ByteDance. After gaining popularity in the US and the deterioration of the political situation, the US authorities began to express concerns about the security of American citizens' data. Eventually, the administration of Joseph Biden passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to American owners or the service would be blocked in the US. However, after Trump came to power, who built his election campaign on TikTok advertising, the implementation of this law was postponed. A number of companies, including Oracle, negotiated the purchase of TikTok, but failed to reach a deal.

In addition to Trump's campaign, TikTok had a significant impact on the presidential election in Romania, when a little-known candidate, Călin Georgescu, beat all other politicians by campaigning only on TikTok. Analysts have long expressed concern about ByteDance's ability to change the algorithms for video delivery, influencing social sentiment.

Why it is controversial:

The law cannot be postponed indefinitely, but the Trump administration is no stranger to entering the "grey zone" of US law, where people without official positions have a great deal of influence on public policy, or new agencies are created that are not controlled by existing laws. Despite the fact that the company continues to operate without any restrictions, it seems that the legality of the endless delays will be reviewed by the court. However, many of Trump's decisions are already being challenged in the courts and these processes can last for years. The only question is whether TikTok's future will continue to be uncertain - whether the company will continue to exist or whether it will have to make administrative changes sooner or later.