TikTok will remain operational for at least another 75 days following an order from President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, during his first day in office, Trump — who has the authority to delay the ban for up to 90 days — ordered the federal government to pause enforcing the law that would ban TikTok nationwide, according to Forbes.
The move gives ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, more time to sell a stake in the platform or reach a deal with Trump.
After signing the executive order, Trump said he believes the U.S. is entitled to 50% of TikTok and warned China that blocking any deal he may make would be considered an act of “hostility” and lead him to impose tariffs ranging from 25% to 100%, per Forbes.
On Sunday, Jan. 20, Trump had promised to sign an executive order on Monday rescinding the ban, prompting TikTok to restore service for its more than 170 million American users after it initially took the app dark the night before.
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:
In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025
Users opened the app late Saturday night to a notification that said, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
The message read, “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. Please stay tuned!”
As of Tuesday morning, Jan. 21, the app remains unavailable for download in the Apple and Google Play stores.
On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court heard over two hours of oral arguments from TikTok lawyers, users, and representatives of the Biden administration, according to AFROTECH™.
A week later, on Jan. 17, the nation’s highest court upheld the divest-or-ban law after ruling it does not violate the First Amendment rights of TikTok’s U.S. users, AFROTECH™ previously reported.
“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt, in collaboration with his nonprofit organization Project Liberty, previously submitted an offer to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations by transitioning American users to a locally managed digital infrastructure.
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, also said he had an offer ready and had been in talks with several billionaires to contribute, according to AFROTECH™. The popular YouTuber has at least 344 million subscribers.
On April 24, 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law ordering ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company within one year or risk a ban. The move followed the House of Representatives’ introduction of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which aims to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications,” AFROTECH™ noted.
Lawmakers and national security experts have expressed concerns about China’s potential access to the data ByteDance collects and stores about Americans as well as the social media platform’s possible influence on public opinion.
“Congress is not acting to punish ByteDance, TikTok, or any other individual company,” Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said on April 23, 2024. “Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel.”
