In a surprising move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday evening granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law requiring the sale or ban of the platform in the United States. This decision comes after the Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, which went into effect on Sunday, leading to the temporary cessation of the Chinese-owned app for American users. The executive order provides TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, additional time to address the mandate, which it had previously ignored.
The ban, initially backed by Trump during his first term in the White House, is rooted in national security concerns. On Saturday evening, TikTok ceased operations for its 170 million users in the US after the law took effect. However, services resumed once President Trump announced his intention to issue an executive order to delay the enforcement.
The law, passed by Congress last year and signed by former President Joe Biden, necessitates that TikTok either sells its US operations or faces a ban. For now, the US will not enforce this law during the 75-day extension period, giving Bytedance time to comply.
President Trump's decision to grant TikTok an extension was among several directives he signed on Monday evening. When questioned by reporters about his apparent change of heart since attempting to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump candidly replied: "Because I got to use it."
"I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about TikTok." – President Trump
The executive order comes at a time when TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew attended Trump's inauguration on Monday alongside notable technology leaders such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. This gathering of tech giants signifies the importance of TikTok's future in the US market and its potential impact on global technology dynamics.
The extension provides TikTok with an opportunity to navigate the complex legal landscape and explore options for selling its US operations, thereby avoiding a complete ban. As the app resumes services to its vast American user base, Bytedance faces significant pressure to secure a deal within the allotted timeframe.
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