Trump delays TikTok ban as platform fights for US survival

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President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at saving TikTok from being banned in the US, in one of his first official acts as President, as he began his second term in office.

The executive order instructs the US Attorney General not to enforce the ban for 75 days to allow Mr Trump's administration the opportunity to find a resolution.

Mr Trump said it would be “good for China” if it is approved and it would be considered “somewhat of a hostile act” if they do not approve it. The new President has said he wants the US to have a 50 per cent ownership of TikTok in a “joint venture”.

“I think the US should be entitled to get half of TikTok and, congratulations, TikTok has a good partner,” Mr Trump told reporters. “If the President doesn't sign, it's worthless. If the President does sign, it's worth a trillion dollars.”

It remains unclear if Mr Trump has the legal authority to allow an extension.

The move comes days after the Supreme Court upheld a law signed by former president Joe Biden last year that gave Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance a January 19 deadline to sell the app or face a ban in the US.

The measure gained broad congressional support from politicians who said the app poses a threat to US national security. TikTok and its supporters have argued the law breaches the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech.

TikTok briefly went dark on Sunday in the US before restoring service to its users after Mr Trump said he would try to delay the ban.

“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 million Americans and allowing over seven million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok tweeted on Sunday.

The app remained unavailable on the Apple or Google Play stores as of Monday afternoon. The executive order cements a policy pivot by Mr Trump, who tried to ban the app during his first term. Mr Trump said he changed his mind on the app “because I got to use it”.

In another sign of Mr Trump's warming relations with the app, TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was among a number of Big Tech executives invited to attend the inauguration inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol.

TikTok also sponsored an inauguration party in Washington on Sunday night.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry earlier on Monday indicated it was open to a deal to keep TikTok in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported. No serious bidder has publicly emerged so far to buy the popular short-video platform.