Trump signs executive order to delay US TikTok ban

The new president granted the Chinese-owned social media platform a 75-day extension to comply with a law that requires a sale or ban of the platform.

During that time, Trump said, the US will not enforce the law passed by Congress last year and signed by former President Joe Biden.

On Saturday evening (18 January), the Chinese-owned app stopped working for American users, after the law banning it on national security grounds came into effect.

Trump promised the following day to delay implementation of the law and allow more time for a deal to be made. TikTok then resumed services in the US.

In a statement on Sunday, TikTok said: “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

The US Supreme Court last week unanimously upheld a law signed in April that required TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the video app. The law required tech companies that host or distribute TikTok in the US – such as Apple, Google and Oracle  – to stop doing so on January 19.

Trump said he would seek a joint venture under which new, US-based owners would purchase 50% of the company and “keep it in good hands and allow it to stay up.”

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!... I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to stay up. Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - maybe trillions.”