TikTok ban timeline: Here's where things stand

• Yet a Supreme Court ruling upholding the law requiring TikTok be sold to an American company or banned still stands.
• TikTok's Chinese owners have slow-walked negotiations over a sale while waiting for a signal from the Chinese government, which could be willing to let TikTok die in the U.S. rather than concede to a deal with trade and tech policy concessions, the Washington Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Between the lines: Trump has tasked Vice President JD Vance and national security adviser Michael Waltz with navigating these challenges and overseeing a potential deal, Punchbowl News reported in early February.

Context: The law passed last year required ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to either sell the app to a U.S. company or shut down operations by Jan. 19. The deadline could be extended 100 days if a sale is underway.

• The bill passed with broad bipartisan support and was signed by former President Biden.
• TikTok and a group of users challenged the law, saying it violates their First Amendment rights.
• Congress said TikTok is a national security threat because ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese government and can harvest vast amounts of personal information from American users.

June 17: Trump to delay ban on TikTok again, White House says

• Trump will sign an additional executive order to keep TikTok up and running for another 90 days, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on June 17.

March 9: Four groups interested in app, Trump says

• The administration is in conversation with four groups over the sale of the app, Trump said during a Sunday interview aboard Air Force One. He said they "could" reach a deal soon.
• "A lot of people want it," he said. "And it's up to me."

Feb. 13: TikTok returns to app stores

• Apple's and Google's app stores restored access to TikTok while it remained in legal limbo.
• Google said it would only keep the app available until the end of Trump's 75-day extension of the ban on the app.

Jan. 20: Trump issues executive order

• On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order directing the attorney general not to enforce a ban on TikTok for 75 days.

Jan. 18 and 19, 2025: TikTok (temporarily) goes dark

• TikTok stopped functioning in America and was removed from Google's and Apple's app stores late Saturday night ahead of the law taking effect.
• It returned on Sunday with the message, "As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!"

Jan. 17, 2025: Supreme Court decision

• The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the sale-or-ban law, unanimously rejecting the company's claim that it violates the First Amendment.

Jan. 10, 2025: SCOTUS hearing

During oral arguments, the justices seemed to agree the law would allow TikTok to keep operating if it used an algorithm other than the one created by ByteDance. And ByteDance, as a Chinese company, doesn't have First Amendment rights.

• "The law doesn't say TikTok has to shut down. It says ByteDance has to divest," Justice Amy Coney Barrett said.

Dec. 27, 2024: Trump asks SCOTUS to pause ban

In a last-ditch effort, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the TikTok ban to allow him to "resolve the dispute through political means."

• "President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government," his brief said.

Dec. 6, 2024: Federal appeals court upholds ban

A federal appeals court ruled the TikTok law is constitutional.

• The three judge panel's opinion set the stage for the Supreme Court fight.

August 2024: FTC, DOJ sue TikTok, ByteDance

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department sued TikTok and ByteDance, alleging the app violates a children's online privacy law.

May 2024: TikTok and ByteDance sue U.S.

TikTok and ByteDance sued, calling the law unconstitutional.

April 2024: Biden signs TikTok bill

Biden signed the bipartisan bill shortly after it passed the Senate.

March 2024: House passes bill

The House of Representatives passed the TikTok bill.

May 2023: State TikTok ban

• Montana became the first U.S. state to sign legislation banning TikTok, but a federal judge blocked it before it took effect.
• Several other Republican-led states banned TikTok on government-issued devices.

March 2023: Congressional testimony

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew defended the company at a congressional hearing.

• Chew downplayed the app's connections to China and referenced TikTok's "unprecedented" data security.
• Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce came out in support of a full ban of the app.

February 2023: Biden administration action

The Biden administration sought to regulate TikTok and banned the app from federal devices in February.

2022: Project Texas

• In June, TikTok began routing all of its U.S. user data to Oracle's cloud infrastructure after pressure from the government.
• Oracle began vetting TikTok's algorithms and content moderation to ensure they aren't manipulated by Chinese authorities.
• It was part of Project Texas, a $1.5 billion plan to ensure Americans that TikTok is safe, their data is secure and "the platform is free from outside influence."
• TikTok prepared for Project Texas for over a year by separating U.S. operations' back-end functions and code.

2020: Trump attempts to force sale

Then-President Trump tried to ban TikTok via executive order in 2020, citing national security concerns.

• He pushed for an acquisition by Microsoft, which fell through. Software giant Oracle then made a bid to become TikTok's "trusted technology partner" in the U.S.
• After much pressure, TikTok agreed to protect U.S. data through an alliance with Oracle.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional developments. Axios' April Rubin and Ivana Saric contributed reporting.