(Gray News) – President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order Monday to give TikTok’s parent company ByteDance more time to find an approved buyer to keep it up and running in the United States.
Trump, who issued executive orders banning TikTok during his first presidential term, announced his decision Sunday on Truth Social.
“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!,” Trump wrote. “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. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he said. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.”
TikTok went dark in the U.S. late Saturday night after the Supreme Court upheld the ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform.
On Saturday, Trump told NBC that he will most likely delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days.
As of late Saturday night, when TikTok users in the U.S. open the app, a message appears that reads, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
Congress passed a law last year that requires TikTok’s owner ByteDance to either sell the app to a new U.S.-approved buyer or face a ban in the country.
Lawmakers expressed concern about the company’s links to the Chinese government but TikTok has denied it shares any information with Beijing.
According to TikTok, it has more than 170 million users in the U.S.
The Biden administration said they would not enforce the ban Sunday, but TikTok said it was unclear what would happen if it did not disable its platform in the U.S.
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