Trump signed the executive order in an attempt to delay the ban on TikTok

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to delay the implementation of the federal ban on TikTok for 75 days, although the law took effect on Sunday and it is unclear whether such a move would overturn it. .

The order, one of Mr. Trump’s first actions after taking office, instructed the attorney general to refrain from taking enforcement action so that his administration would have “an opportunity to determine the course of action.” may proceed..”

When he signed the order, Mr. Trump told reporters that “the United States should get half of TikTok” if a deal is reached with the app, without going into details. He said he thought TikTok could be worth a trillion dollars.

The order could face immediate legal challenges, including whether a president has the power to suspend federal law enforcement. A company subject to the law may determine that the order does not provide protection from legal liability.

A federal law banning TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, mandates that the app must be sold to non-Chinese owners or be banned. The law allows the president to grant a 90-day extension if there is a buyer, but only if “significant progress” on the deal can be made within that period. It is not clear that there is an extension, because the law is already in force.

By seeking to overturn the federal law, Mr. Trump has raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power and the rule of law in the United States. Some lawmakers and legal experts have expressed concern about the legality of the executive order, especially after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the law and national security concerns that prompted lawmakers to draft it in the first place.

Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed the law, which passed heavily in Congress last year, forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. TikTok has faced security concerns that the Chinese government could use to spread propaganda or collect US user data. The law imposes financial penalties on app stores and cloud computing providers if they stop working on the app.

TikTok briefly went dark for US users over the weekend, but returned on Sunday after Mr Trump announced on social media that he was considering an executive order. While the app was working again for people who had downloaded it, it disappeared from the Google and Apple app stores on Saturday and was no longer available on Monday.

Mr. Trump’s efforts to keep TikTok online have a big impact on its users. The app has changed the world of social media, defined popular culture and created a livelihood for millions of influencers and small businesses that rely on the platform.

In the executive order, Mr. Trump said his constitutional duties include national security. It says it wants to consult with counsel to review TikTok’s concerns and the mitigation measures the company has taken.

“The administration will follow a decision that protects national security while preserving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” according to the order, which called the timing of the legislation “unfortunate.”

TikTok and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Google declined to comment.

TikTok’s relationship with China has long raised national security concerns, including from Mr. Trump. At the end of his first term in office in 2020, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that would prevent app stores from making TikTok available. He then pushed for an American company to buy the app, but those efforts failed when he was re-elected.

Last year, Congress revived the effort and Mr. Biden signed it into law in April. The law targeted app stores, such as those of Apple and Google, and cloud computing companies. They said the companies could not distribute or host TikTok until the app was sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19.

Mr. Trump then switched positions. He joined the app in June and said on television in March that some young people would be “crazy” without TikTok.

“I think I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have in the beginning,” Mr Trump said when he signed the executive order on Monday evening.

TikTok has challenged the law in federal court, saying it infringes on its users’ free speech rights as well as the company’s First Amendment rights. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the law in December. TikTok appealed to the Supreme Court, which also upheld the law on Friday.

TikTok and some Democrats have made a last-ditch effort to block the law from taking effect. But on Saturday, TikTok stopped working in the United States and disappeared from the Apple and Google app stores a few hours before midnight. Employers were saddened by his disappearance.

On Sunday morning, Mr. Trump announced on Social Truth that “he will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the deadline before the ban goes into effect, so we can make an agreement to protect our national security.” . He said he would not punish companies that broke the law to keep the app online.

Hours later, TikTok restored its service to US users and congratulated them with the message: “Thanks to the efforts of President Trump, TikTok is back in the US!”

When he signed the executive order in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump was asked why he changed his mind about the implementation.

“Because I need to use it,” he said.

Sapna Maheshwari contributed to the report