Follow updates live on the beginning of the Trump administration.
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to delay the implementation of a federal ban on TikTok for 75 days, although the law took effect on Sunday and it is unclear whether such a move could reverse it.
The order, one of Mr. Trump’s first acts after taking office, directs the attorney general to take no action to enforce the law so that his administration has “an opportunity to determine the appropriate path forward.” The order is retroactive to Sunday.
As he signed the order, Mr. Trump told reporters that “the United States should be entitled to take half of TikTok” if a deal is reached for the app, without elaborating. He said he thought TikTok could be worth a trillion dollars.
The order could immediately face legal challenges, including whether a president has the power to stop enforcement of a federal law. Companies subject to the law, which prohibits providing services to Chinese-owned TikTok, may determine that the order does not provide protection from legal liability.
The federal law banning TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, mandated that the app be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face being blocked. The only remedy provided by law is a 90-day extension if a potential buyer is found. Even then, it is unclear whether this option is viable, given that the law is already in place. The law also limits how much of TikTok’s stock can remain under foreign ownership.
By seeking to circumvent federal law, Mr. Trump raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power and the rule of law in the United States. Some lawmakers and legal experts have expressed concerns about the legality of an executive order, especially after a Supreme Court ruling upholding the law on Friday and the national security concerns that prompted lawmakers to draft it in the first place.
Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had signed the law, which was overwhelmingly passed in Congress last year, forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. TikTok had faced security concerns that the Chinese government could use it to spread propaganda or collect data on US users. The law imposes financial penalties on app stores and cloud computing providers unless they stop working with the app.
TikTok briefly went dark for US users over the weekend, but returned on Sunday after Mr Trump announced on social media that he was planning an executive order. While the app was working again for people who have already downloaded it, it disappeared from the Google and Apple app stores on Saturday and remained unavailable on Monday.
Mr. Trump’s efforts to keep TikTok online have big implications for its users. The app has reshaped the social media landscape, defined popular culture, and made a living for the millions of influencers and small businesses that rely on the platform.
In the executive order, Mr. Trump said his constitutional responsibilities include national security. He says he wants to consult with advisers to review the concerns raised by TikTok and the mitigation measures the company has already taken.
The administration will “pursue a resolution that protects national security by saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” according to the order, which called the timing of the law “unfortunate.”
The attorney general will send letters to companies covered by the law to tell them “that there has been no violation of the statute” and they will not be held responsible for providing services to TikTok for 75 days, the order said.
That may not be enough security, some legal experts said.
“I don’t think it’s consistent with the faithful execution of the law to order the attorney general not to enforce it for a certain period,” said Zachary Price, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco College of Law. “And even if that’s OK, the president doesn’t have the authority to eliminate the law itself and remove accountability for people who break it while it’s not being enforced.”
TikTok and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Google declined to comment.
TikTok’s ties to China have long raised national security concerns, including from Mr. Trump. Near the end of his first term in 2020, Mr Trump issued an executive order that would have banned app stores from making TikTok available for download. He then sought to have an American company buy the app, but these efforts failed when he lost re-election.
Last year, the effort was revived by Congress and Mr. Biden signed it into law in April. The law targeted app stores, such as those run by Apple and Google, and cloud computing companies. He said those companies could not distribute or host TikTok unless the app was sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19.
Mr. Trump then reversed positions. He joined the app in June and said on television in March that there are young people who would go “crazy” without TikTok.
“I think I have a soft spot for TikTok that I didn’t have initially,” Mr Trump said as he signed the executive orders on Monday night.
TikTok challenged the law in federal court, saying it interfered with its users’ free speech rights, as well as the company’s own First Amendment rights. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the law in December. TikTok appealed to the Supreme Court, which on Friday also upheld the law.
TikTok and some Democrats made a last-ditch effort to stop the law from taking effect. But on Saturday, TikTok stopped working in the United States and disappeared from the Apple and Google app stores hours before midnight. Users mourned his disappearance.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that he would “issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s bans go into effect so that we can make a deal to protect security our national”. He said he would not punish companies that broke the law to keep the app online.
A few hours later TikTok restored its service to US users and welcomed them with a message: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
While signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump was asked why he had changed his mind about the app.
“Because I have to use it,” he said.
Sapna Maheshwari, Tripp Mickle AND Nico Grant contributed to the reporting.