U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that he may extend the deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok for a fourth time, as the September 17 cutoff date approaches. The announcement came in the same week that the White House launched its official TikTok account.

“We have American buyers,” Trump told reporters. “Until the complexity of things works out, we just extend a little bit longer.”

The “divest-or-ban” legislation, passed with bipartisan support in 2024, requires TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app or face removal from U.S. networks and app stores. Trump has delayed implementation three times since taking office in January.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently issued a stronger stance on the matter, telling CNBC: “If that deal gets approved by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If they don’t approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark.”

A consortium led by ByteDance’s existing U.S. investors remains the front-runner to acquire TikTok’s American operations. Oracle Corp and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz remain as part of the investor group, although Blackstone recently withdrew.

The proposed structure would grant U.S. investors 80% ownership, while ByteDance retains a minority stake under 20%, designed to meet U.S. security requirements.

White House Joins Platform

Despite ongoing security concerns, the White House launched its official TikTok account with a 27-second video featuring Trump’s voiceover late last week. When questioned about potential privacy or national security issues, Trump downplayed concerns.

“I’m really not [concerned]. I think it’s highly overrated,” he said, adding that the administration will “watch the security concerns.”

TikTok has approximately 170 million users in the United States and is developing a standalone version specifically for U.S. users, scheduled to launch in American app stores by September 5.

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