President-elect Donald Trump says 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 ban in the U.S.
Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday as millions of TikTok users in the U.S. 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 U.S. operation to an approved buyer by Sunday.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!,” Trump wrote. “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.
“Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” he said.
The law gives the sitting president authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is underway. Although investors made a few offers, ByteDance previously said it would not sell. In his post on Sunday, Trump proposed making the U.S. a partner in a deal.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he said. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”
