
In one of the first acts of his second term, President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that gives ByteDance more time to sell off the part of its TikTok video sharing app that operates in the United States.
Since Sunday, TikTok has been unavailable to download through Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung’s app stores after a law kicked in that required U.S.-based tech providers pull their support for the app amid ByteDance’s failure to sell off its U.S. operations.
The law was integrated into a federal appropriations bill that provided financial support to Ukraine and Israel during their military conflicts. Then-President Biden, a supporter of banning TikTok in the U.S., signed the measure into law.
The passage of the law began a countdown clock by which ByteDance was required to divest its stateside business by January 19, or lose the support of U.S. tech providers. In addition to the app store ban, companies like Oracle and Akamai that provided technological support to ByteDance and TikTok were forbidden from doing so, rendering TikTok’s services unavailable between Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.
The law provided any U.S. president the opportunity to stay the law for 90 days if ByteDance showed it was working in good faith to sell off its business. The executive order signed by Trump on Monday is for 75 days. It was not clear if ByteDance had demonstrated its willingness to sell off its American operations — the company previously said the Chinese government would not allow it to do so, but news reports have surfaced over the past two weeks that indicate Chinese and American officials have held discussions about maintaining TikTok’s availability in the U.S.
Those conversations have zeroed in on a few ideas, including the possibility that tech mogul Elon Musk acquire some or all of the company and run it alongside X, the social media platform formerly known as TikTok. Musk has not affirmed or denied those conversations. A TikTok spokesperson characterized early stories as “fiction,” but stopped short of saying the conversations took place. Bloomberg, which was first to report on the discussions, said the conversations may have taken place without TikTok’s knowledge.
Despite assurances from Trump that the law will not be enforced, a number of companies — including Apple, Google and Samsung — were still blocking American customers from downloading TikTok in their app stores. Oracle and Akamai restored their services to TikTok after receiving assurances from the Trump administration that they will not be punished for doing so.
The executive order commits in writing that the Trump administration is willing to take a hands-off approach to the matter for a little more than two months. During that time, Trump says he will continue working with TikTok and other stakeholders to find a more-permanent solution that allows the app to operate in the U.S. under the law.
Still, the issuance of the executive order could cause more problems than it solves, with the New York Times noting that Trump’s decision “could immediately face legal challenges, including over whether a president has the power to halt enforcement of a federal law” that is already in force.
“The federal law banning TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, mandated that the app needed to be sold to a non-Chinese owner, or it would be blocked,” the Times reported. “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 that the extension is available, given that the law is already in effect.
During his first term in office, Trump was a supporter of reigning in or outright banning TikTok, noting various unproven national security concerns with allowing the app to operate in the U.S., and he found a rare ally in Biden, who affirmed much of the same for near-identical reasons.
But Trump has reversed himself since winning the 2024 presidential election, after a number of Republican lawmakers expressed concern that limiting TikTok’s availability in the U.S. might inhibit their ability to reach constituents.