Trump has extended the grace period for the TikTok ban by another three months

US President Trump has once again extended the grace period for the enforcement of the "sell or ban" law on the Chinese short-video app TikTok, postponing it to December 16.

AFP reported that Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday (September 16) to extend the grace period for the fourth time to enforce the ban on TikTok.

Earlier on the same day, he told reporters that the United States and China had reached a framework agreement on the operation of TikTok, and the US side would soon announce the buyer. "Several large enterprises are interested in acquiring TikTok."

China also confirmed on Monday (the 15th) that the two sides had reached a framework agreement. The agreement will be finalized during a phone call between the leaders of the two countries.

In April 2024, then US President Joe Biden signed a "Sell or ban" bill passed by both houses of Congress, requiring ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company within 270 days; otherwise, the app would be banned in the United States after January 19, 2025.

After taking office, the Trump administration postponed the ban three times in January, April and June this year to deal with the complex legal and national security issues caused by TikTok's operation in the United States.

According to Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, the agreement reached between China and the United States is similar to the plan drafted in April this year, which will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, while its US business will be transferred from ByteDance to US investors.

After Reuters requested comment, a senior White House official said in a statement that details of the framework agreement were speculation unless announced by the current administration. The statement of the Chinese Embassy in Washington referred to the basic framework agreement reached by the two countries, but did not mention the previous agreement.

Insiders disclosed that the terms of the agreement reached earlier this year have been approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance and the US government.

The basic framework of the new agreement is similar to the April version, including ByteDance retaining a maximum single equity stake of 19.9%, slightly below the 20% threshold stipulated by law. Its US business may still continue to use ByteDance's algorithmic technology.

Insiders also said that the project within TikTok to promote an independent US version of the app is progressing smoothly, and the technical work to separate the US operation system from user data is nearing completion. However, the specific launch plan will depend on the final agreement reached between China and the United States.