Is TikTok going to be banned on 5 April - as Donald Trump's 75-day stalling of the ban nears deadline

The deadline for that extension was set to April 5. Whether or not TikTok will be unavailable to U.S. users on or after April 5 depends on if ByteDance sells to an American buyer.

However, Trump told reporters on March 6 that he would “probably” extend his original extension. “We have a lot of interest in TikTok,” the president said, per Forbes. “So hopefully China will approve of the deal.”

According to the legislation, Trump is only allowed to extend the deadline for 90 days if there is evidence that ByteDance is making efforts towards a sale, per NBC. In early March 2025, Trump told reporters that “a lot of people want” TikTok and that he was dealing with “four different groups,” per AP. Exactly who those four groups are wasn't disclosed, but some companies and notable figures have publicly put in their bid for the app.

Trump first attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, signing an executive order that was ultimately blocked by courts. During Joe Biden's presidency, Congress revisited the idea of a TikTok ban, ultimately passing a bill that Biden signed into law in April 2024.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act requires TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell to a U.S. owner, amid national security concerns regarding the possibility that the Chinese government uses the app to spy on users. In January 2025, TikTok then went dark in the US after the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring ByteDance to divest or face a ban. However, Trump signed an executive order to delay the ban for 75 days, giving ByteDance more time to find a solution.

If TikTok isn’t sold to a U.S. company or group by the April 5 deadline, then the ban put in place by the original law will go into effect. However, Trump has been vocal about extending the deadline.