President Donald Trump has delayed the nationwide ban on TikTok for 75 days.
Tik Tok is now an important bargaining chip for Beijing. https://t.co/rvjjZPavWh via @WSJ
— Angela Zhang (@AngelaZhangHK) January 20, 2025
This gives ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, more time to sell a stake in the platform or reach an agreement with the U.S. government. The decision comes after TikTok took itself offline for U.S. users for more than 12 hours over the weekend.
The app displayed a message saying “you can’t use TikTok for now” due to a pending law banning it. However, it noted that Trump would work on a solution to bring it back. Trump signed the executive order on January 20, 2025.
Trump signs an EO that pauses the TikTok ban for 75 days to give ByteDance more time to reach a deal and provides a “liability shield” to TikTok's providers https://t.co/7RNKSpPCKf
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) January 21, 2025
He said he wanted to give his administration more time to decide what to do about the app. Trump also believes the U.S. should own 50% of TikTok. He warned China not to block any deal.
TikTok Ban live: President Trump signs exec order giving TikTok a penalty-free 75-day extension https://t.co/LQPd2xQLyq
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) January 21, 2025
TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew attended Trump’s inauguration as a gesture of goodwill. This was seen as a step towards finding a resolution.
Trump delays ban for TikTok sale
Trump says Apple and Google should ignore the TikTok ban. Apple and Google, for now, are following the law, not Trump's order.https://t.co/eju0OGLKrx
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) January 21, 2025
On January 19, 2025, TikTok resumed its services in the U.S. It displayed a pop-up message saying “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.” However, the app was still not available on Apple’s App Store. Senators and officials have mixed reactions to the delay. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) questioned if Trump’s executive order was legal. Sen.
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) warned of severe penalties for companies that continued to support TikTok under its current ownership. The Supreme Court had earlier upheld the law banning TikTok, citing national security concerns. This meant TikTok would face a ban unless it was sold to an American company.
Various offers have been made for TikTok’s U.S. operations. Estimates suggest the platform could be worth between $40 billion to $50 billion. There were rumors that Elon Musk might buy the U.S. operations, but ByteDance has denied these claims.
TikTok now has 75 days to find a resolution. It remains to be seen if it will shift to American ownership or face renewed attempts at a ban. The situation continues to evolve and could impact the app’s millions of U.S. users and U.S.-China relations.
