Will TikTok Be Banned on September 17? After Multiple Delays, This Could Be the End

The "will it/won't it" of TikTok being banned is starting to wear on people. There was a time when it was the only thing being discussed in headlines and videos across the internet: TikTok ban happening soon!

Now, it seems like no one cares or is even bothering to react at all.

And that's because every time TikTok has faced a ban, something, namely President Donald Trump, has swooped in at the last minute to save it from joining MySpace in social media history.

But Sept. 17, 2025, is another major deadline looming for the ByteDance Ltd.-owned company. So, will it survive with yet another last-minute save, or is TikTok going to be banned for good on September 17? Here's what we know.

Just like several times before, TikTok appears to be barreling towards another ban, this time going into effect on Sept. 17, 2025. TikTok users seem to be mostly ignoring it, assuming that it won't happen.

But is that a safe bet?

On Sept. 15, 2025, news began circulating that Trump was planning to offer another extension for TikTok. Reuters reports that "someone familiar with the matter" told the outlet that Trump will again extend it. But not everyone is so certain.

Trump had been discussing the possibility of extending the deadline for months before he changed his tune.

On Sept. 14, he told reporters, "I may or may not, we're negotiating TikTok right now. We may let it die, or we may, I don't know, it depends, up to China. It doesn't matter too much. I'd like to do it for the kids" (excerpt via Reuters).

So, will the ban be extended once again? It seems likely, but nothing is set in stone. And with Trump known to change his mind at the last minute, nothing is done until it's done. And sometimes, not even then.

All of the furor over the ban begs the question: why is the United States determined to ban it to begin with?

To start with, they're not alone. Universities all across the US have already banned the app on campus, and several state agencies have opted to ban officers and employees from downloading the app on work devices.

In addition, Afghanistan, Albania, India, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Senegal, Somalia, and Uzbekistan have all banned the app in their country.

But why?

Reportedly, the concern is about national security or personal security. According to CBS News, "Lawmakers and U.S. officials have sounded the alarm for years about the supposed risks that TikTok's ties to China pose to national security, and Congress moved last year to force TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or be cut off from the U.S. market."

Of course, the purpose of the ban may not be as effective as lawmakers hoped, since last time TikTok was banned, users jumped over to RedNote, which is an app made in China specifically for people who live in China.

With the Sept. 17 deadline looming, it's anyone's guess what Trump will decide to do. But with so many false starts in the past, people are jaded and seem mostly unconcerned.