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President-elect Donald Trump said it is “possible” to extend the deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to stop the video app facing a global ban that will take effect on Sunday.

In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he was considering extending the deadline by 90 days. His comments come the next day TikTok warned that 170mn users would soon be suspended after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ban or restriction order passed by Congress last year to address concerns about China’s national security.

“A 90-day extension is something that can be done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump said. “We have to look carefully. It’s a very big problem. . . . If I decide to do it, I’ll probably make an announcement on Monday.”

On Friday, Trumpet He said he spoke with President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok with the Chinese leader. Chinese media said the two leaders spoke but did not say whether TikTok was part of the discussion.

The Biden administration on Friday said it would leave decisions about enforcement of the law, which will take effect at midnight Saturday eastern time, to the incoming administration.

That means the companies that provide the video platform — including Apple, Google and Oracle — must decide whether they can break the law between the midnight deadline and Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Apple and Oracle declined to comment, while Google did not immediately respond.

TikTok said the Biden administration “failed to be clear” and warned that the app “will go dark” on January 19 unless there is “convincing evidence that provides the necessary support to prove that it is not working”.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saturday described TikTok’s warning as “relieving”.

“We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take action in the coming days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“We have made it clear and unequivocal: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. Therefore, TikTok and other companies must deal with it.”

A source familiar with the matter said Biden’s administration attorneys were “fully committed” to pursuing it. But since the Supreme Court’s decision came 48 hours before the deadline, Justice Department officials expect they will need time to negotiate with service providers on a timely plan to comply. The Ministry of Justice on Friday said the implementation of the law is to ensure compliance is “a process that moves over time”.

In a double majority vote last March, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to remove TikTok to avoid a ban on the global app.

US lawmakers and security officials believe that having the program in China poses a national security threat because it could be used for espionage and information dissemination by the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok has denied that the Chinese government has any control over the app.

During his first term, Trump issued an order to ban TikTok from operating in the US, but it was stopped by the courts at the last minute. At the beginning of the year 2024, he argued against the ban or ban of Congress on the grounds that it would help Facebook, which banned him for two years.

Trump has appointed a number of China hawks who oppose Chinese ownership of TikTok to his administration, including Mike Waltz, a former green beret and congressman from Florida, who will be national security adviser.

Earlier this week, Mr. Waltz said the incoming administration would put in place “measures to prevent TikTok from going black,” saying the rules allow for extensions as long as a “feasible deal” is on the table.

Following TikTok’s statement on Friday, Rush Doshi, the former head of the Biden administration in China, wrote on X that the company had blamed itself.

“TikTok had 268 days to sell because it’s not controlled by China. That would have solved everything. But they didn’t even try. China didn’t let them,” said Doshi.

“Now, at some point, they want Biden to ignore the bipartisan SCOTUS (U.S. Supreme Court) unanimous 9-0 ruling. If they close, that’s on them.”

Additional reporting by Hannah Murphy and Michael Acton