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President Trump opted to delay the TikTok ban for 75 days in an executive order on Monday, marking one of his first moves in his new administration.
Trump signed the order from the Oval Office hours after he was inaugurated into his second term. The move comes days after the Supreme Court upheld the ban.
The order also came days after TikTok briefly went offline for U.S. users, and after Trump signaled that he was interested in keeping the app accessible, even if it is not completely owned by a U.S. company.
In his executive order, Trump wrote that he has “the unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.”
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“To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” Trump said. “My Administration must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”
Trump added that he has directed Pam Bondi, his nominee for U.S. attorney general, to pause any enforcement of the ban for 75 days, which would give the Trump administration “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok.”
“Because of the national security interests at stake and because section 2(d) of the Act vests authority for investigations and enforcement of the Act only in the Attorney General, attempted enforcement by the States or private parties represents an encroachment on the powers of the Executive,” the order added. “The Attorney General shall exercise all available authority to preserve and defend the Executive’s exclusive authority to enforce the Act.”
In an exchange with Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy on Monday, Trump said that TikTok’s future “depends on the deal,” and that the U.S. “should be entitled to get half of TikTok.”
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“You and your members of your team now used to warn about the dangers of TikTok spying on Americans,” Doocy said to the president. “What changed that you’re not worried about that anymore?”
“I may not do the deal or I may do the deal,” Trump replied. “TikTok is worthless, worthless if I don’t approve it, it has to close… if I do the deal, it’s worth maybe $1 trillion. A trillion. So if I do the deal, I’m talking about doing it for the United States.”
In a unanimous ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the TikTok ban and stressed its concern for the app’s “relationship with a foreign adversary.”
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court wrote in the decision. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.”
