Trump says he will ‘most likely’ give TikTok a 90-day extension to avoid US ban

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “most likely” give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a US ban.

Mr Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday.

A law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to US users takes effect on Sunday.

Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikTok’s China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer.

The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension if a sale is in progress.

“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,” Mr Trump told Meet The Press moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview.

“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate.

“We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.

“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”

Both White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco made clear on Friday that the Biden administration would leave the law’s implementation to Mr Trump given that his inauguration falls the day after the ban takes effect.

In a statement later on Friday, TikTok asked for “a definitive statement” saying the Biden administration would not enforce the law or try to fine app store operators such as Apple and Google and other US companies if they do not stop making TikTok available on Sunday.

Without those assurances, TikTok said it “will be forced to go dark”. But the company did not provide details, including whether it would voluntarily shut down its US platform at midnight or suspend its operations after losing access to service providers it relies on.

The White House on Saturday called TikTok’s statement “a stunt”.

“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” Ms Jean-Pierre said.

“We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.”

Neither Apple, Google or Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s data on its servers, have responded to questions about what they plan to do on Sunday.

The US Supreme Court upheld the ban on the social media site – passed as a result of national security fears – this week.

Under the law, TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, had nine months to sell the platform’s US operation to an approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to extend the deadline by 90 days if a sale is in progress.

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance on Saturday to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok US business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

If successful, the new structure would also include other investors and allow ByteDance’s existing shareholders to retain their stake in the company, the person said.

Perplexity is not asking to purchase the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok users videos based on their interests and has made the platform such a phenomenon. The person said they believed a fair price for TikTok – without the algorithm – is north of 50 billion dollars (£41 billion).

If the merger plan is successful, the algorithm would need to be rebuilt. It would also lead to more AI-powered searches on TikTok, the person said.

Other potential buyers have been eyeing TikTok. Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary recently said a consortium of investors that he and billionaire Frank McCourt put together offered ByteDance 20 billion dollars (£16.4 billion) in cash.

ByteDance previously said it would not sell, but TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.