U.S. President Donald Trump, keeping his promise, has postponed the ban on TikTok for an additional 75 days. Upon taking office, President Trump signed an executive order giving TikTok this grace period to sell its U.S. operations.
This decision comes after TikTok voluntarily shut down its app in the U.S. on the night of January 18, ahead of the proposed ban. However, following Trump’s signing of the executive order on January 19, the app resumed operations.
The executive order outlines that President Trump plans to consult with his advisors, including heads of relevant U.S. federal agencies, to assess the alleged national security concerns regarding TikTok and to protect the social media platform, which 170 million Americans use.
The order directs the Attorney General to refrain from taking any actions against TikTok’s operations for the next 75 days regarding the enforcement of the ban.
The executive order may face legal challenges as it’s unclear whether President Trump, as the sitting president, has the authority to delay the application of a federal law.
While signed on January 20, the order was retroactively applied from January 19.
TikTok’s website and mobile app were activated again on the evening of January 20, but the app has not yet returned to the Apple or Google app stores.
In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a law requiring TikTok to sell its U.S. operations by January 19 or face a ban. This law was also signed by President Joe Biden.
TikTok has not yet issued a statement regarding President Trump’s executive order, but the company had already thanked the newly elected president in a previous statement, saying, “We are working with President Donald Trump to find a long-term solution for TikTok in the U.S.”
Interestingly, during his first term, President Trump had unsuccessfully attempted to ban TikTok, but now he says he is not in favor of banning the app.
