President Trump Delays TikTok Ban to Allow Negotiations

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order extending the enforcement deadline for the ban on the popular short-video app TikTok. Initially set to take effect on January 19, the ban will now be delayed by 75 days, providing additional time for compliance and negotiations.

While signing the order, Trump suggested the United States government should be a half-owner of TikTok’s U.S. business in return for keeping the app alive and warned that he could impose tariffs on China if Beijing failed to approve a U.S. deal with TikTok.

The executive order capped 48 hours of legal manoeuvring and political intrigue that left millions of U.S. TikTokkers struggling for answers about the fate of their app.

The drama began Saturday when the short video app used by 170 million Americans was taken offline for users shortly before a law that said it must be sold by its Chinese owner, ByteDance, on national security grounds, or be banned, took effect on Sunday.

The next day Trump said he had plans to “Save TikTok.” Within hours, the company began restoring its service in the U.S., thanking the soon-to-be-inaugurated President for providing assurances to TikTok and its business partners that they would not face hefty fines to keep the app running.

The app and website were operational on Monday, but TikTok is still not available for download in the Apple and Google app stores.

REUTERS