Trump issues an executive order to halt the TikTok ban for 90 days to locate a U.S. buyer

The United States has seen the restoration of TikTok following a 14-hour blackout, after President-elect Donald Trump's announcement on Truth Social that he will issue an executive order to extend the period before the law's prohibitions take effect to protect national security.

Particularly, Trump noted that his executive order would shield companies that had previously helped TikTok operate, and he wanted the US to control 50% of a joint venture.

The Ban's Effect on TikTok's Operations

In a statement, TikTok stated that it was “in agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.”

Notably, the US law banning TikTok officially took effect last Sunday, but the platform temporarily went dark as of late Saturday evening. TikTok had warned users about the temporary absence, but it remained viewable for much of the day.

The law banning TikTok has resulted in the platform's temporary unavailability status, as stated on the landing page and user messages on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

President Trump has pledged to collaborate with social media platform TikTok to reinstate the platform once he takes office, allowing users to download their data. Meanwhile, Lemon8, another app owned by TikTok's parent company ByteDance, temporarily stopped functioning in the U.S.

Moreover, President-elect Trump plans to extend the ban's deadline by 90 days after taking office. The specifics of this plan

remain unclear, but it is expected to be announced later.

Besides, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation allowing ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, until January 19 to sell the platform or face a US ban. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court upheld the ban.

The Biden administration has decided not to enforce the TikTok ban, which restricts app hosting by companies like Apple and Google, leaving the decision to incoming President Donald Trump, who took office yesterday on Monday, as a necessary step.

US's Stance on TikTok's Future

Trump seems to have taken steps to maintain TikTok's presence in the US, inviting CEO Shou Zi Chew to his inauguration and expressing his support for the platform.

Additionally, Trump has praised the Supreme Court's decision and stated that his decision on TikTok will be made soon, but he will need time to review the situation.

Surprisingly, Google Trends shows a surge in web searches for “VPN” following the loss of TikTok access for U.S. users, who were concerned about the delivery of merchandise purchased on TikTok Shop.

Marketing firms relying on TikTok have prepared contingency plans, a “hair on fire” moment after months of conventional wisdom suggesting a solution would be found to maintain the app's operation.

Further, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is interested in the fast-growing TikTok business, estimated to be worth $50 billion. Beijing has also discussed selling TikTok's US operations to Elon Musk, though the company denies this.

In essence, US search engine startup Perplexity AI has submitted a bid to ByteDance for a merger with TikTok U.S., forming a new entity with ByteDance, a privately held company with over 7,000 US employees, owned by 60% institutional investors and 20% founders and employees, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.

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