Trump to delay ban on TikTok again
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The youth can rejoice. President Trump will yet again extend the deadline for a ban on TikTok, the White House said Tuesday.
Why it matters: The wildly popular video app lives to fight another day. It's so far outlasted the terms of a bipartisan law that would have banned it over national security risks because of its ties to China.
- That legislation passed last year, which was upheld by the Supreme Court, had required that ByteDance divest TikTok by mid-January or else stop operating in the U.S.
- Trump has extended the deadline multiple times since he took office in January, most recently until June 19.
Driving the news: Trump will sign an additional executive order this week to keep TikTok up and running for another 90 days, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
- "As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark," she added.
- During the extension period, the administration will work "to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure," Leavitt, said.
Zoom in: Patience on the Hill has been wearing thin as Trump prepares to delay a ban on TikTok for the third time.
- Each time the White House delays enforcement of the TikTok ban, Republicans' national security concerns are undermined, Axios' Maria Curi reports.
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that Congress passed the law "so that the Chinese government no longer has the ability to use TikTok to conduct espionage and propaganda."
- He added, "It is my hope and expectation that that's exactly what the Trump administration is fighting to achieve. And as long as that happens, I expect Congress will be happy."
- Cruz noted, "If it doesn't happen, I expect Congress will be very honest."
Catch up quick: The app briefly went dark in January after ByteDance failed to divest from TikTok.
- A plan to spin off the app's American operation was put on hold after the U.S. imposed steep tariffs on China, Reuters reported.
- Multiple outlets reported Trump would extend the pause on the ban, and the president himself said he has "a little warm spot in my heart" for the app.
Go deeper: Lawmakers are getting fed up with the TikTok ban delays
Axios' Ashley Gold contributed to this report.
