Trump says he'll likely give TikTok a 90-day extension

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a looming ban once he assumes office on Monday.

"I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at," Trump said in an interview on NBC News' Meet The Press with Kristen Welker.

But inside TikTok, the short-term focus is on 12:01 a.m. Sunday — when the ban under law officially takes effect. It is set to force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from app stores, as well as require TikTok's web-hosting companies, including Oracle and Amazon Web Services, to sever ties with the app.

Failing to comply with the law carries stiff financial penalties: Up to $5,000 per user for companies supporting TikTok, fines that can easily reach into the billions of dollars given the size of the app's U.S. userbase.

A content creator on TikTok holds a protest sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Late on Friday, TikTok announced it "will be forced to go dark" on Sunday unless the Biden administration guarantees it will not start issuing fines to firms supporting the app.

In response, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre derided the statement as "a stunt," saying the Biden administration believes neither TikTok nor other companies backing TikTok need to take any action.

A spokesman for TikTok did not return a request for comment on Saturday. It is unclear if Jean-Pierre's assurance is enough for TikTok to back off its promise of taking the service dark early Sunday.

No matter how it plays out, Sunday will mark the first time ever the U.S. has had a law banning a social media app domestically. Rights advocates have argued it undermines America's ability to push against censorship and to advocate for free expression on the global stage.