President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that gives TikTok a 75-day extension during which the United States will not enforce the law meant to force the app’s owner to sell the company.
The law, which President Joe Biden signed in April, requires TikTok’s owner, the Chinese company ByteDance, to sell most of its stake for TikTok to continue to operate in the United States. It went into effect Sunday, but the Biden administration said it wouldn’t enforce the law. Now, Trump is continuing that approach.
“I hereby order the Attorney General not to take any action on behalf of the United States to enforce the Act for 75 days from the date of this order, to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok,” the White House said in the order. “During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating) of any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act.”
The order temporarily halts the recent back-and-forth surrounding the app’s accessibility. After the Supreme Court upheld the law behind the looming ban Friday, TikTok voluntarily made itself unavailable to U.S. customers Saturday evening. On Sunday, after Trump said he preferred the app to stay operable to help broadcast his inauguration, TikTok resumed service, greeting American users with a message that thanked him.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The order also specifically directs the Justice Department not to take action against any U.S. company for helping TikTok get back online on Sunday. Those companies will also receive a letter from the attorney general saying that they did not violate any law and that they face no legal liability.
Apple and Google didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. TikTok is not currently available in either company’s app store.
Biden and the bipartisan members of Congress who passed the law warned that ByteDance’s close ties with the Chinese government made TikTok both a propaganda threat and a possible avenue for Beijing’s spies to track Americans.
The extension does not overturn the law — the president has no such authority. TikTok still must either find a U.S. company to take an 80% stake in it or it will be banned under the law.
Trump said on Truth Social that he wanted to find a deal for TikTok that involved ownership split 50-50 between ByteDance and the United States, though it is unclear whether Trump meant a U.S. company and whether that deal would survive court challenges based on the law’s requirements.
Some investors and companies have said they are interested in acquiring the necessary stake in TikTok to keep it active in the United States, but China had given no indication that it would be open to a sale — at least until very recently.
On Monday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, indicated a willingness to allow ByteDance to sell at least part of the company, rather than the country’s banning such a deal.
“As for business operations and acquisitions, we firmly believe that these should be decided according to market principles and left to the discretion of the companies. If Chinese companies are involved, they should comply with China’s laws and regulations,” Mao said.
Eunice Yoon, CNBC, Jennifer Jett, Jason Abbruzzese and Savannah Sellers contributed.
