President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to halt the TikTok ban in the United States, allowing 170 million users in the U.S. to continue using the platform.
On Inauguration Day, Trump signed the order to delay the TikTok ban for an additional 75 days, allowing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, more time to sell the app to a U.S owner. Before Trump was formally sworn in as President, he mentioned that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension.
Trump previously introduced a TikTok ban during his first presidential term in 2020 due to national security concerns involving China, as ByteDance and TikTok are Chinese-owned. He now expresses that he is working to find a resolution regarding the app.
In a Truth Social post, Trump writes, “Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”
During a press conference held on Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump if he’s “open to Elon buying TikTok.” He replied that he “would be” if Elon Musk expressed interest in buying the app.
Trump also says he is open to negotiating a deal regarding a necessary permit for use in the U.S. Though, Trump says the app is “worthless” without it and worth nearly “$1 trillion” with one. If the U.S. receives half ownership, he is willing to provide a permit in return.
Former President Joe Biden first signed the ban into law on Apr. 14, 2024. Concerns arose over the Chinese government’s potential access to U.S. user data. The law specified that ByteDance was to sell the app to a new owner in the U.S. by Jan. 19 or face a nation-wide ban.
TikTok then sued the U.S. government, arguing that the ban violates users’ First Amendment rights to free speech. However, The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold the ban.
ByteDance failed to give up ownership and decided to completely shut down the app on the evening of Jan. 18th – hours before the federal ban began. Other applications that are housed under the ByteDance parent company, such as Capcut and Lemon8, also shut down.
The app provided an error message that read, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now, A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
In response to the ban, TikTok users attempted to migrate to another Chinese-based app called RedNote, making it the number one downloaded app on the Apple app store charts amid the ban. Experts also noted RedNote poses a security threat since user data is stored in China. Unlike TikTok, which moved its data to Oracle’s U.S. cloud infrastructure.
Users in the U.S. could not use TikTok for approximately 14 hours. However, the app began to restore service to users on Sunday evening following Trump’s supportive comments. Trump said about the executive order, “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.” Upon its return, TikTok posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, thanking President Trump.
“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.”
In accordance with the ban, Apple and Google have removed TikTok from their app stores. Users who still have the app downloaded on their devices will continue to have access but will not receive software updates. However, those who uninstalled TikTok can no longer reinstall it. This also applies to other ByteDance applications.
