Washington, Jan 20, (V7N) – President-elect Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order on Monday afternoon, shortly after the start of his second term, temporarily halting a ban on the popular video app TikTok.
 
The Supreme Court upheld a law on Friday that requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, based in China, to either sell or shut down its U.S. operations. By Saturday evening, American users of TikTok began seeing a pop-up message that said, "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."
 
However, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump announced that his executive order would "extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect," allowing time for a deal to be reached to protect national security. He also stated that the order would ensure there would be "no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order."
 
Later on Sunday, TikTok confirmed it was working on restoring service and thanked Trump for his actions. "It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship," the company said in a statement. TikTok also expressed its willingness to work with Trump on finding a long-term solution to keep the app available in the United States.
 
Trump mentioned he would support "a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership" of TikTok, although he did not clarify whether this could involve ByteDance, the company's current Beijing-based parent.
 
"Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations," Trump added.
 
Trump, who had called for a TikTok ban during his first term, has recently shown more support for keeping the app available. He shared a post on Sunday urging, "SAVE TIKTOK!"
 
TikTok and social media have played an important role in boosting Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign, with online appearances targeted at younger voters, especially through the encouragement of his 18-year-old son, Barron Trump.
 
If Trump moves forward with the executive order on Monday, the restrictions on TikTok will have lasted less than 48 hours. Trump has not specified the duration of the extension, though he indicated on Saturday that it would likely be a 90-day delay.
 
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