Trump says he will issue executive order on Monday to delay TikTok ban

United States President-elect Donald Trump has said that he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent US ban.

Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday as millions of TikTok users in the US awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.

Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with a federal law that required them to do so if TikTok parent company ByteDance didn’t sell its US operation by Sunday.

Trump said his order would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and “confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order”.

The incoming president also wrote that “Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.”

The law gives the sitting president authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is under way. Although investors made a few offers, ByteDance previously said it would not sell. In his post on Sunday, Trump said he “would like the United States to have a 50 percent ownership position in a joint venture”, but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the government or a US company.

“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up,” Trump wrote. “Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”

The federal law required ByteDance to cut ties with the platform’s US operations by Sunday due to national security concerns posed by the app’s Chinese roots.

The law passed with wide bipartisan support in April, and US President Joe Biden quickly signed it. TikTok and ByteDance sued on First Amendment grounds, and the US Supreme Court upheld the statute on Friday.

Millions of TikTok users in the US were no longer able to watch or post videos on the platform as of Saturday night.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US,” said a message to users attempting to access the app, used by 170 million Americans. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the app said in its message to the US users. “Please stay tuned!”

Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz told CNN on Sunday that the president-elect doesn’t rule out continued Chinese ownership coupled with “firewalls to make sure that the data is protected” in the US.

“We can have an app that Americans can enjoy, but at the same time that protects their data, protects them from outside influence,” he said.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a law mandating the app’s ban unless parent company ByteDance divests TikTok’s US operations.

In court, the administration of outgoing US President Biden defended the law by citing concerns that TikTok collects extensive amounts of US user data, which could potentially be accessed by the Chinese government through coercion.

Officials have also cautioned that the app’s algorithm, which determines what content users see, could be manipulated by Chinese authorities to influence the platform in subtle and hard-to-detect ways.

However, the US has yet to present public evidence showing that TikTok has shared user data with Chinese authorities or altered its algorithm to serve Chinese interests.

ByteDance has denied any wrongdoing and resisted calls to sell its US operations, leaving the platform in limbo.

The US law requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, blocking new downloads. The companies could face penalties of up to $5,000 per user who can access the app.

Oracle, which hosts TikTok’s servers, would also be legally obligated to enforce the ban.

Meanwhile, US-based competitors such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts stand to benefit from TikTok’s forced absence.

Another Chinese platform, Xiaohongshu, meaning Little Red Book, has gained traction among American users, becoming the most downloaded app on Apple’s US store this week.

Several investors have proposed last-minute solutions to keep TikTok operational.

According to media reports, Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, submitted a plan to merge with TikTok’s US business to create a new entity, potentially allowing ByteDance to retain partial ownership.

Other offers, including a $20bn bid from a consortium led by Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt, remain under consideration.

Experts warn that even if Trump issues an executive order to delay the ban, it may face legal challenges.

“Congress wrote this law to be virtually president-proof,” warned Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of the industry trade group Chamber of Progress.