Tuesday, January 21, 2025 - US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive action that delays enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days.
The action directs the US Justice Department not to enforce the Foreign
Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed with broad bipartisan
support in Congress and was signed in April by former President Joe Biden. The
law required that starting January 19, TikTok be banned in the United States
unless it sells to a buyer from America or one of its allies.
“The unfortunate timing of section 2(a) of the Act — one day before I
took office as the 47th President of the United States — interferes with my
ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the
Act’s prohibitions before they take effect,” Trump’s executive action said.
“This timing also interferes with my ability to negotiate a resolution
to avoid an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform while addressing national
security concerns.”
The action says the 75-day delay will help the Trump administration
attempt to “determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that
protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a
communications platform used by millions of Americans.”
Trump told reporters Monda. January 20, that he changed his mind on
TikTok because he “got to use it.
“And remember, TikTok is largely about kids, young kids,” Trump said in
the Oval Office when asked what changed his mind. “If China is going to get
information about young kids out of it, to be honest, I think we have bigger
problems than that.”
He also told reporters the action that he signed on TikTok gave him the
right to either “sell it or close it.
“I have the right to either sell it or close it, and we’ll make that
determination,” Trump added.
But TikTok’s fate in America remains in doubt. It’s unclear that
TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, would want to sell to a buyer, even if
it were a deal brokered by Trump.
TikTok restored access for American users’ midday on Sunday, crediting
Trump for bringing the app back.
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time
before the law’s prohibitions take effect so that we can make a deal to protect
our national security,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday,
January 19.
He added that he would not hold TikTok’s technology partners including
Apple, Google, and cloud computing company Oracle — liable for continuing to
make the app available until he signed the order.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and
assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing
TikTok,” TikTok said in a statement Sunday. “We will work with President Trump
on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
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