President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to delay the implementation of a federal ban on TikTok for at least 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 right path forward..”
The order could immediately face legal challenges, including whether a president has the power to stop the implementation of a federal law. Companies subject to the law may determine that the order does not provide protection from legal liability.
The federal law banning TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, ordered the app to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face being blocked. The law allows a president to grant a 90-day extension if a buyer is found, but only if there is “significant progress” on a deal that can be completed within that period. It is not clear whether an extension is available, as the law is already in place.
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.
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.
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 evening.
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 contributed to the reporting.
