President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to delay enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok for at least 75 days, even though the law took effect on Sunday and it is unclear whether such a measure could override it.
The order, one of Trump's first acts after taking office, instructs the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the law so that his administration has “the opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.”.”
The order could face immediate legal challenges, including over whether a president has the power to stop enforcement of a federal law. Companies subject to the law may determine that the order does not protect against legal liability.
The federal law banning TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, requires the app to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or be blocked. The law allows a president to grant a 90-day extension if a buyer is found, but only if there is “significant progress” on a deal that can be completed within that period. It is not clear whether the extension is available as the law is already in effect.
By attempting to override federal law, Trump raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power and the rule of law in the United States. Some lawmakers and legal experts have raised concerns about the legality of an executive order, especially in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling upholding the law Friday and the national security concerns that prompted lawmakers to adopt it in the first place set.
Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had signed the law, which passed overwhelmingly in Congress last year, forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. TikTok has faced security concerns that the Chinese government could use it to spread propaganda or collect U.S. user data. The law imposes financial penalties on app stores and cloud computing providers unless they stop working with the app.
TikTok briefly went dark for American users over the weekend, but returned on Sunday following Mr Trump's announcement on social media that he is planning an executive order.
Mr. Trump's efforts to keep TikTok online are having major consequences for its users. The app has reshaped the social media landscape, defined popular culture, and created a livelihood for millions of influencers and small businesses that depend on the platform.
TikTok's ties to China have long raised national security concerns, including among Mr. Trump. Near the end of his first term in 2020, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that would ban app stores from making TikTok available for download. He then pushed for an American company to buy the app, but those efforts failed when he lost re-election.
The effort was revived by Congress last year and Mr. Biden signed it into law in April. The law targeted app stores, such as Apple and Google, and cloud computing companies. It said these companies could not distribute or host TikTok unless the app was sold to a non-Chinese owner before January 19.
Mr. Trump then reversed positions. He joined the app in June and said on television in March that there are young people who would go 'crazy' without TikTok.
“I think I have a warm feeling about TikTok that I didn't originally have,” Trump said as he signed executive orders Monday night.
TikTok challenged the law in federal court, saying it interfered with users' rights to freedom of speech and the company's own First Amendment rights. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the law in December. TikTok appealed to the Supreme Court, which also upheld the law on Friday.
TikTok and some Democrats made a last-ditch effort to prevent the law from going into effect. But on Saturday, TikTok ceased operations in the United States and disappeared from the Apple and Google app stores a few hours before midnight. Users lamented its disappearance.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that he would “issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period before the law's bans take effect so we can strike a deal to protect our national security.” He said he would not punish companies that broke the law to keep the app online.
Hours later, TikTok restored its service to US users and welcomed them back with a message: “As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
While signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump was asked why he had changed his mind about the app.
“Because I have to use it,” he said.
Sapna Maheshwari reporting contributed.
