Trump to Issue Order Tomorrow to Freeze TikTok Ban Law

President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform faces a permanent ban in the United States.

Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday as millions of TikTok users woke up to find they couldn’t access the app.

The TikTok team and Trump spoke directly about finding a privacy and data security solution that would address the national security concerns cited by the Supreme Court in its ruling on Friday.

Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with a federal law requiring them to do so if TikTok’s parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell its U.S. operations to an approved buyer by Sunday.

“I am asking companies not to let TikTok go dark! I will be issuing an executive order on Monday to extend the time period before the law’s ban goes into effect, so we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also ensure that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok dark before my order,” Trump wrote.

“Americans deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” he said.

The law gives the current president the authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is underway. Although investors have made some offers, ByteDance has previously said it will not sell. In his Sunday post, Trump suggested making the United States a partner in the deal.

“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership stake in a joint venture,” he said. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands, and allow it to emerge. Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok.” With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars - perhaps trillions of dollars."

Trump's expected decision to postpone the ban on TikTok for 90 days aims to give ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, more time to sell its operations, which is a done deal, and I don't think China has many solutions or options in this regard.