Even though there isn’t yet an agreement for a U.S.-based company to purchase the app, President-elect Donald Trump made it clear in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that he would like to see TikTok back up in the United States as soon as possible.
I’m pleading with businesses to keep TikTok open!Trump posted on Truth Social. In order to reach an agreement to safeguard our national security, I will issue an executive order on Monday to prolong the time before the law’s prohibitions go into effect. Additionally, the order will affirm that no company that assisted in preventing TikTok from going black prior to my order will be held liable.
Trump continued, “Americans deserve to witness our thrilling Inauguration on Monday, along with other events and conversations.”
Trump made his statement just hours after TikTok went offline for users in the United States overnight due to a bipartisan law that essentially outlawed the app. It began returning to the internet for American consumers just hours after Trump’s post.
In a statement, the business stated: “TikTok is working to restore service in accordance with our service suppliers. We appreciate President Trump giving our service providers the clarification and guarantee they won’t be penalized for giving TikTok to more than 170 million Americans and enabling the success of more than 7 million small enterprises.”
It stated, “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
The regulation, which was signed last year, gave ByteDance, the Chinese business that owns TikTok, a few months to sell to a U.S.-based corporation or risk being banned. While TikTok was still owned by a Chinese corporation, lawmakers expressed worry about the risks to consumers’ privacy and national security.
Additionally, Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he will probably try to extend the law for a one-time period of no more than 90 days before it expires.
However, the statute also states that the extension can only be given if the President certifies to Congress that a path to carrying out a qualified divestiture has been established and that there is proof of substantial progress made in that direction.
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