President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday delaying the enforcement of a ban on the popular short-video app TikTok by 75 days. Originally slated to be shut down on January 19, the app has been given temporary relief.
Trump also proposed that the U.S. should become a “half owner” of TikTok’s U.S. operations in exchange for allowing the app to continue operating.
The service, which has 170 million American users, was briefly taken offline on Saturday, just before a law requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the app over national security concerns took effect. U.S. officials have expressed concerns that ByteDance could misuse Americans’ data.
TikTok restored access on Sunday and thanked Trump for ensuring that the app and its business partners would not be penalised for keeping the service running. However, as of Monday, TikTok remains unavailable for download on Apple and Google app stores.
The executive order directs the attorney general to pause enforcement of the law to allow the administration time to determine a course of action regarding TikTok. The move capped a tumultuous 48 hours, leaving TikTok users initially disheartened and later relieved as the app’s fate shifted rapidly.
The debate over TikTok coincides with strained U.S.-China relations. While Trump has mentioned imposing tariffs on China, he has also expressed interest in direct discussions with the Chinese leader.
Trump said he “could see” the U.S. government taking a 50% stake in TikTok, potentially policing the site as part of that arrangement. He argued that the company’s value could reach hundreds of billions of dollars and questioned why the U.S. shouldn’t benefit from that value.
The order instructed the Justice Department to notify companies like Apple, Google, and Oracle that there had been no legal violations and no liability for past conduct. It remains uncertain whether this will be sufficient to restore TikTok’s availability in app stores.
“Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it,” Trump said during a rally on Sunday.
Meanwhile, China signaled openness to a deal that would keep TikTok operational in the U.S., with its foreign ministry stating that companies should “decide independently” about their operations and agreements.