An executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday grants TikTok a 75-day extension during which the US would not implement the statute intended to compel the app’s owner to sell the business.
The bill, which President Joe Biden signed in April, mandates that the Chinese business ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, sell the majority of its shares in order for the app to remain active in the US. Although the Biden administration declared it would not execute the law, it entered into effect on Sunday. Trump is now pursuing that strategy.
“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 stated in its 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 recent back and forth on the app’s accessibility is temporarily put on hold by the ruling. Following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to uphold the statute underlying the impending ban, TikTok unilaterally stopped offering its services to American users on Saturday night. Following Trump’s statement that he would prefer the app be operational in order to assist in broadcasting his inauguration, TikTok reopened on Sunday and thanked him in a message to its American users.
Requests for response from Google and Apple were not immediately answered. Neither company’s app store currently offers TikTok.
Biden and the bipartisan members of Congress who enacted the legislation cautioned that TikTok was a potential conduit for Beijing’s spies to track Americans and a propaganda threat because to ByteDance’s close ties to the Chinese government.
Since the president lacks such authority, the extension does not nullify the legislation. In order to avoid legal bans, TikTok still has to locate a U.S. corporation to acquire an 80% share in the company.
Though it’s unclear if Trump meant a U.S. firm and whether the arrangement would withstand legal challenges based on the law’s requirements, Trump stated on Truth Social that he intended to negotiate a deal for TikTok that involved a 50/50 ownership split between ByteDance and the United States.
At least until recently, China had not indicated that it would be receptive to a sale, despite certain individuals and businesses expressing interest in purchasing the required ownership in TikTok to maintain its operations in the United States.
China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, stated on Monday that the country would be open to allowing ByteDance to sell at least a portion of the business rather than outright prohibiting the transaction.
We are adamant that company operations and acquisitions should be left up to the companies’ discretion and determined by market principles. According to Mao, Chinese businesses should abide by Chinese rules and regulations if they are involved.