US president Donald Trump has signed a new executive order delaying the enforcement of a ban on the popular social media platformTikTok by 75 days.
Mr Trump, who had initially called for a ban on TikTok in 2020, told reporters on Monday that he changed his mind as he “got to use” the platform, adding that he aimed to give its parent company ByteDance more time to find a suitable buyer.
Dismissing initial privacy concerns, he said “TikTok is largely about kids, young kids”.
“If China is going to get information about young kids out of it, to be honest, I think we have bigger problems than that,” the 47th US president said.
The move comes as the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of a law last week that barred TikTok from US consumers after former president Joe Biden signed a legislation in April requiring TikTok to either be sold by its owner or face a ban.
The short video platform, used by 170 million Americans, was briefly taken offline for US users on Saturday.
A message on the app for users hinted that the new US president would “work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office”.
Mr Trump said he would not hold TikTok’s technology partners, including Apple and Google, liable for continuing to make the app available until he signed the order.
The app restored access to its US users on Sunday and thanked the president for his assurances.
On Monday, the new US president directed the attorney general to not enforce the law “to permit my administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok”.
His new order instructed the Department of Justice to “not take any action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act” for the next 75 days, “including the period of time from 19 January 2025, to the signing of this order”.
“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,” Mr 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,” the order, issued by the White House, noted.
The president said he “could see” the US government taking a 50 per cent stake in TikTok, with this stake allowing the US to potentially police the site.
