Senator Mark Warner says new Trump TikTok extension may violate law

Trump on Friday said he extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell US assets of TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer, or face a ban

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Donald Trump has said his administration was in touch with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:02am, 8 Apr 2025Updated: 8:49am, 8 Apr 2025

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to extend a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest short video app TikTok’s US assets violates the law.

Senator Mark Warner also said the reported likely deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements for eliminating ByteDance’s influence over TikTok’s US operations under a 2024 law.

The reported deal “would preserve a material, operational role for ByteDance by not only allowing it to retain a significant equity stake in the divested entity, but also an active role in technology development and maintenance”, he said.

Trump on Friday said he extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell US assets of the popular short video app to a non-Chinese buyer, or face a ban that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.

The White House and TikTok did not immediately comment on Monday.

The deal would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in the US and majority-owned and operated by US investors. The plan entails spinning off a US entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership, sources have said.