Written by David Shepardson and Katie Paul
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday seeking to postpone for 75 days the implementation of the ban on the popular short video application TikTok, which was scheduled to close on January 19.
While signing the order, Trump suggested that the US government would be a half-owner of TikTok's US business in exchange for keeping the app alive, and warned that he might impose tariffs on China if Beijing fails to agree to a US deal with TikTok.
The executive order capped 48 hours of legal maneuvering and political machinations that left millions of American TikTokks struggling for answers about the fate of their app.
The drama began on Saturday when the short-video app used by 170 million Americans was taken offline shortly before a law stipulating that it must be sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance on national security grounds, or banned, came into effect on Sunday.
The next day, Trump said he had plans to “save TikTok.” Within hours, the company began restoring its services in the United States, and thanked the soon-to-be inaugurated president for providing assurances to TikTok and its business partners that they would not face heavy fines for keeping the app running.
The app and website went live on Monday, but TikTok is still not available for download in the Apple (NASDAQ:) and Google app stores.
Trump's order, signed hours after his inauguration on Monday, reverses his previous promises and directs the attorney general not to enforce the law to give his team time to “determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok.”
But the legality of Trump's executive order is unclear. The law requiring divestment was approved by a large majority in Congress, signed by President Joe Biden, and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court.
The law also does not give Trump the authority to extend the deadline unless ByteDance has “binding agreements” to sell TikTok and it is unclear that any agreements exist.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Representative Frank Pallone said Trump's order “circumvents national security legislation passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress.”
Tense relations with China
The controversy over TikTok comes at a tense moment in relations between the United States and China. Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on China, but also indicated he hopes to have more direct contact with the Chinese leader.
While signing the executive order on Monday evening, Trump said he “could see” the US government taking a 50% stake in TikTok, and as part of that stake, the US could monitor the site.
Trump added that if China doesn't agree to the deal, “it has no value. So, if we create this value, why shouldn't we be entitled to half?” He said the company could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The United States has never banned any major social media platform. The law passed last year gives the Trump administration broad authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps.
Trump's rescue of TikTok represents a reversal in his stance for his first term in office. In 2020, he unsuccessfully sought to ban the app — as well as Tencent's WeChat — over concerns that the company was sharing Americans' personal information with the Chinese government.
More recently, Trump said he has a “warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” and credited the app with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Later in 2020, Trump blessed a deal for a new ownership structure with Walmart (NYSE:) and Oracle (NYSE:) agreeing to take ownership stakes in the new company.
Trump said the agreement would include companies paying a $5 billion US education fund as part of the deal. The deal eventually collapsed.
It would be unprecedented for the US government to demand a stake in a major company in exchange for agreeing to its continued use.
Trump's comments also did not address whether ByteDance or other Chinese entities would be allowed to own a stake in TikTok or whether the deal would address US national security concerns over US user data.
The order directs the Justice Department to issue letters to companies like Apple, Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Google, and Oracle that provide services to TikTok “indicating that there has been no violation of the law and that there is no liability for any conduct that might result in a violation of the law.” occurred during the period specified above.”
It remains unclear whether Trump's order will be enough to convince Alphabet's Google and Apple to return the app to stores in the United States.
The announcement came as China indicated for the first time that it would be open to a deal that would keep TikTok running in the United States
When asked about restoring the app and Trump's desire to reach an agreement, China's Foreign Ministry said at a regular news conference on Monday that it believed companies should “independently decide” about their operations and deals.
She repeated the same comment on Tuesday when asked about Trump's executive order.
