Newly sworn-in United States President, Donald Trump, on Monday, signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days as promised.
The move instructs the Justice Department to hold off on implementing the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in April with bipartisan support.
The Act required TikTok to be banned in the U.S. starting January 19 unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divested the platform to an entity from the U.S. or its allies.
Trump’s order, explained in a Truth Social post on Sunday, stated that the delay was necessary to assess the law’s national security implications and negotiate a solution to avoid an abrupt shutdown of TikTok.
“The unfortunate timing of section 2(a) of the Act — one day before I took office as the 47th President of the United States — interferes with my ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the Act’s prohibitions before they take effect,” the order read.
During an Oval Office briefing, Trump explained his reversal on TikTok. “And remember, TikTok is largely about kids, young kids. If China is going to get information about young kids out of it, to be honest, I think we have bigger problems than that,” he said.
He added that he retains the authority to either “sell it or close it” and will decide accordingly.
TikTok Resumes Operations
TikTok, which had gone offline for about 14 hours starting Saturday night, restored service to its U.S. users Sunday afternoon.
The company attributed the decision to assurances from Trump’s administration that tech partners like Apple, Google, and Oracle would not face penalties for continuing to support the app.
In a statement, TikTok expressed gratitude, “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok.”
Influencers like Shay Sullivan, who has over a million followers, celebrated the app’s return.
“I was fully crying myself to sleep last night because it was just so sad and I felt like I’d lost a whole community and a job,” Sullivan said. “Now, I’m just overjoyed. I’m having the best day … it was definitely a roller coaster.”
Despite the relief, some users accused TikTok of engaging in “political theatre” to bolster Trump’s image, with one user questioning, “Did we just get a 16-hour pop-up ad for Donald Trump?”
The Road Ahead
The executive order grants TikTok a 75-day reprieve, giving ByteDance time to find a buyer.
Trump suggested a 50-50 joint venture between an American buyer and ByteDance, though it’s uncertain if this would satisfy lawmakers.
ByteDance has publicly resisted selling its prized algorithm, and Chinese officials have echoed this stance.
Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts criticized the delay, arguing that the law mandates TikTok’s U.S. assets be sold.
“For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China,” the senators said in a joint statement.
Several potential buyers have shown interest, including groups led by Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary, and rumours of Elon Musk’s involvement have surfaced, though TikTok dismissed these as “pure fiction.”
If negotiations progress, Trump could claim enough momentum to justify the delay.
For now, the app remains operational in the U.S., but its ultimate fate hinges on whether ByteDance agrees to sell and Congress accepts the terms.
